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The experiences of skiers with disabilities were showcased recently at the Canadian Sport Film Festival via a documentary by Gorham “Hap” Kindem, a communications studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The not-for-profit festival highlighted 50 films from 14 countries. The films celebrate the skill and endurance of people of varying abilities who are vying to be the best in their competitive field.

Kindem’s 30-minute documentary, “Pushing the Limits: Ski for Light USA,” focuses on multiple gold medalist Paralympian Jeff Pagels and a 2006 cross-country skiing event in Colorado for blind, visually impaired and mobility-impaired participants.

“The people I found so interesting were pushing their own limits and getting outdoors,” said Kindem, who teaches in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. “They are inspiring to both able-bodied people as well as people who are disabled.”

In 2007, Kindem’s documentary won the Best American Documentary Award at the Swansea Bay Film Festival in Wales. Also at that festival, Kindem’s music video, “Talk Straight,” was nominated for the Best Public/Community Service Video Award. The video supports Carolina for Kibera, a nonprofit that operates youth soccer and other programs in one of the worst slums in Africa. In fall 2007, “Talk Straight” received the Gold Award for best music-based video at the Everglades International Film Festival in South Africa.

Kindem has directed 13 motion picture productions, also serving as producer, camera operator and editor for most of them. The documentaries, some of which have appeared on PBS and the Discovery Channel, were filmed in Great Britain, Honduras, Norway, Qatar, Senegal and the U.S.

His most recent documentary, “Winning Isn’t Everything” (2008), follows the 2007 UNC women’s soccer team in their attempt to repeat as NCAA national champions. Kindem plans to show the documentary in UNC’s Memorial Hall, tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 4 – the night before the soccer team’s rematch with the University of Notre Dame. The Tar Heels defeated the Fighting Irish for the national championship in 2006, but last year, Notre Dame bested UNC in the third round of the NCAA tournament. The documentary DVD will be available for purchase this fall.

Some of Kindem’s students assisted in the production of the soccer documentary and the Carolina for Kibera video. He has produced two new documentaries that were created by students last month as projects for a UNC Maymester course focusing on sports and social change.

The first, “Duke Lacrosse: Stronger for the Game,” focuses on the Duke University men’s lacrosse team, and the second, “EuroStars,” follows the basketball games played by the UNC women’s team in Europe in May. Three students – basketball players Trinity Bursey, Rashanda McCants and Martina Wood – shot the second documentary while they were on the trip.

Kindem has given academic and professional presentations across the globe, including in Thailand and China. He has edited books including “The International Movie Industry” and “The American Movie Industry,” both published by Southern Illinois University Press.

Kindem, who also speaks Norwegian, earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in communication/film from Northwestern University. He has taught previouslyat Duke University and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 

Web sites: Gorham “Hap” Kindem, http://www.unc.edu/~kindemg/
Canadian Sport Film Festival, http://www.sportfilmfestival.ca/  
Carolina for Kibera, http://cfk.unc.edu/
“Winning Isn’t Everything,” http://winningisnteverything.org

kindem

Note: Kindem can be reached at (919) 962-4960 or kindemg@email.unc.edu.

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093, spurrk@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589

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