的 Poly community shared a discussion on 短跑运动员, a film co-written and produced by 罗伯·梅勒96届， in the fourth installment of the 聚乙烯薄膜 series on February 25. Maylor was joined on a panel by Poly’s 主任 Performance Fitness 理查德•詹姆斯体育总监 理查德·科索，校友 Keyonte " Kiki " Sutherland ’03, P’26.

Maylor is the chief executive officer and founder of Mental Telepathy Pictures, 这是一家独立制作公司，专注于加勒比地区及其侨民的新叙事. 短跑运动员, directed by Storm Saulter, is their first production. 的 film won three awards—Best Feature, Audience Award and Best Director—at the 2018 American Black Film Festival.

短跑运动员 讲述了牙买加高中田径明星阿基姆·夏普的故事. He hopes that success as a runner will take him to the U.S. 他的母亲, 作为非法居民生活了十多年，是谁在支持这个家庭, 现居洛杉矶. But first he has to overcome turmoil at home and the influence of a brother, 杰曼, 谁是骗子, and learn how to treat women with respect. 幸运的是阿基姆, 他的教练提供指导, telling him to wear “mental blinkers” and to focus on his goals. 这部电影由大卫·艾伦·格里尔、洛林·杜桑和戴尔·埃利奥特主演，可以在Netflix上观看.

主任 艺术推广 罗伯特·阿伯林62年，2000年，2003年 hosted the discussion and welcomed the panelists. Aberlin 我首先问了梅勒他的职业轨迹，以及他在保利的日子里是否对电影感兴趣. 事实上是这样的, Maylor说, he wrote his senior thesis or senior plan about the films of Brooklyn. Maylor’s parents, who came from Jamaica, wanted him to be a barrister. One of Maylor’s first jobs was with lawyer Johnnie Cochran. He went to William and Mary and wanted to study entertainment law. 他搬到旧金山找了一份服装生产线的工作，然后申请了南加州大学，在木兰影业找到了一份工作. “I wanted to be a storyteller,” he said. “You should tell the story you are most qualified to tell.”

梅勒说:“这个行业最难的事情是让人们读你的剧本.“幸运的是, the script got in the hands of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who were very enthusiastic and became producers of 短跑运动员. Maylor说 that the story is universal—this boy was without his mother.

Panelists Share 的ir Reactions to the Film

Aberlin问 理查德·詹姆斯教练， who represented Jamaica at the 2004 夏天 Olympic Games in Athens, 希腊, to talk about his own experience in Jamaica. 詹姆斯分享了他第一次看到 短跑运动员 当他与一个尼日利亚团队合作时，他被这部电影感动得流下了眼泪. 他说，这提醒了他，“作为黑人，我们必须在不同的层面上努力.” He said it brought back feelings of anger, 失望, 和悲伤, but “opens up the door for how we view race.他说，他有一种必须“证明自己配得上这个地方”的感觉.”

在小组之前, 詹姆斯说, “我非常喜欢这部电影，因为它突出了移民如何影响家庭的斗争. 我们可以清楚地看到，到达美国的愿望导致了一个家庭的分裂. 我可以认同阿基姆是一个想要逃离牙买加混乱世界的年轻运动员.  I can identify with the high levels of confusion as we seek to find self.”

“Life is a storm and [young athletes] should find the right people to guide them through the storm.”

詹姆斯说，年轻运动员应该从电影中吸取这句话:“生活是一场风暴，(年轻运动员)应该找到合适的人来引导他们度过风暴。.” Like Akeem, James had a coach who believed in him. “Coach Oral Dunston is the coach who identified and groomed my talent,” he said. “如果没有他和他的鼓励，我的人生故事可能会有所不同. His words were like water to the desert.”

Aberlin问 Keyonte " Kiki " Sutherland ’03, P’26, who is an Associate at Elefterakis, Elefterakis & Panek, what her life trajectory had been. Sutherland said her parents had come to the U.S. 从圣. 文森特去上大学. She recalls her family having boxes of supplies to send back to family in St. 文森特. “It was a big part of our culture’” she said. She was surrounded by strong women, she said. “他们对我的要求很高.”

“Being a young athlete takes patience, 信心, 最重要的是奉献,” Sutherland said in advance of the panel. “At times it was difficult to watch my friends hanging out, 当我在练习的时候, and it could sometimes feel like I was ‘missing out’ on some memorable moments. 我记得我一直在挣扎，想要在场上或赛道上更努力地工作, but also wanting more time to myself to explore other interests. 在大学一年级的时候，我没有参加任何可靠的网堵平台, but the urge to get back on the track led me back to my team.”

“有老师和教练不断地推动我变得更好，做得更好，我知道如果我碰巧摔倒了，他们总会接住我，这让我的生活变得完全不同.”

Sutherland shared memories of her Poly coach. “I will never forget my very first 400-meter race. 我是一名新生 教练[巴特]莫罗尼 说了些类似于“琪琪，你要参加400米短跑”之类的话. It’s just one lap around the track. 跟着拉奎尔(当时大四的学生)跑完最后100米就行了.“他忘了告诉我的是，当我跑到300米的时候，我会感到极度的疼痛，几乎想要崩溃和放弃。, but to be honest I probably would have faked a stomach ache if he did. 莫尼教练让我觉得在任何情况下都有可能成功，我经常向他寻求建议和支持. 我从保利毕业后，我们一直保持着良好的联系，他总是我回来后第一个找的人之一. 有老师和教练不断地推动我变得更好，做得更好，我知道如果我碰巧摔倒了，他们总会接住我，这让我的生活变得完全不同.”

“As a student athlete I had to learn how to manage my time,” Sutherland said. “我认为作为一名学生运动员给了我专注，让我从保利大学进入法学院，甚至更远的地方.”

Aberlin问 查尔斯Polizano P’18, Head of Technology, to share a clip from the film. It was the scene where Akeem’s coach tells him he has to wear “mental blinkers.他建议说:“没有捷径，在田径运动中没有，在生活中也没有。!” Aberlin问 Maylor if he needed mental blinkers to finish the film. “Yes, I had to be singularly focused. From 2016 to 2018 there was not much else that I thought about.”

曾执教过奥运会水球队的科索说:“这部电影真的引起了我的共鸣.他说，这表明“当你给年轻的学生运动员一个机会时”，孩子们会发生什么.”

Maylor说 it was important to show a “working class Jamaican family.早些时候，梅勒解释说，“我是牙买加移民在美国的第一代。. 每年暑假和休息的时候, 我发现自己回到了我父母的国家，这不是一个家外之家, 那是我的家. 我的父母总是在岛上和纽约之间往返，现在他们在牙买加退休了. 作为一个成年人, my dad and I would regularly attend CHAMPS, 一年一度的牙买加高中田径运动会，其竞争气氛堪比超级碗或全美大学生体育协会疯狂三月. When writer/director Storm Saulter shared his vision for 短跑运动员, 我知道，只有我才有资格讲述这个故事，并把它带给全世界的观众.”

Aberlin noted the strong women characters in the film. “That’s nothing new to me,” Sutherland said. 在这种文化中，女性看到了支持家庭的机会，就必须抓住, 就像阿基姆的母亲那样.  “This is so deeply rooted in the fabric of the culture,” she said. “It’s a story that needed to be told.”

“Every woman is portrayed in a positive light,” added Maylor. James noted that Jamaica has many women runners. 他说，他的母亲和祖母都是坚强的女性，是她们“让他了解了大学是什么”，并让他走上了正确的道路. “Watching the movie, I see the strength of women.”

播放的一段视频显示，阿基姆在逃离骗子时脚踝受伤. Maylor noted that the scene was shot with a stunt double. 尽管骗子挥舞着枪，但梅勒说，在影片中，“没有开过一枪”.

另一段视频片段显示，当阿基姆和其他运动员一起前往比赛时，他的母亲与他见面. 她只是想摸摸他的脸. “你为什么离开我??阿基姆问她. “I did what I did so you could be here today,” she responds.

Aberlin问 Maylor what is next for him. Maylor说 he is working to develop a soundstage in Jamaica. 他说: 短跑运动员 电视连续剧也有可能. “的re is a lot more story to be told,” he said.

“Observe the world around you with an open mind…”

Maylor shared advice for young Poly filmmakers. “阅读，记录，观察. 阅读各种各样的剧本和书籍，了解别人是如何讲故事的，了解你熟悉的和陌生的世界. 书和电影, journal what works or doesn’t work for you, what elicits an emotional response, 以及为什么你认为会发生这种情况. 以开放的心态观察你周围的世界……电影是一种自己的语言，只有以自己的方式参与其中，你才能成为一名实践者.”

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下一个 聚乙烯薄膜 讨论事件是 的 蒂姆·奥布莱恩的《战争与和平 directed by Aaron Matthews ’89 on April 21. 的 documentary will be available soon on Amazon.

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