Undefeated - American Film Showcase

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UNDEEATED
Directors/
Cinematographers:
Daniel Lindsay
T.J. Martin
Producer:
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs
Run Time
113 minutes
Website
http://weinsteinco.com/sites/
undefeated
Awards
Synopsis:
Set against the backdrop of a high school football season, Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s
documentary Undefeated is an intimate chronicle of three underprivileged studentathletes from inner-city Memphis and the volunteer coach trying to help them beat the
odds on and off the field. Founded in 1899, Manassas High School in North Memphis
has never seen its football team, the Tigers, win a playoff game. In recent decades, the
last-place Tigers had gone so far as to sell its regular season games to rival schools
looking to chalk up an easy win. That began to change in 2004, when Bill Courtney,
former high school football coach turned businessman, volunteered to lend a hand.
When Courtney arrived, the Tigers were accustomed to timeworn equipment and a sorry
patch of lawn as a practice field. Focusing on nurturing emotional as well as physical
strength, Courtney helps the Tigers find their footing and their confidence.
2012 Academy Awards:
Best Feature Documentary
Black Reel Awards:
Best Documentary, Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics
Association Awards:
Best Documentary Feature
SXSW Film Festival:
Official Selection
Toronto International Film
Festival:
Official Selection
Doc NYC Film Festival:
Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin are the co-directors/co-editors/co-cinematographers of the feature
length documentary, Undefeated. The film premiered at the 2011 SXSW film festival, where it
was purchased by The Weinstein Company for North American Distribution. In 2012, the film
was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. The film has also been
honored with a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Documentary, as well as winning
numerous festival awards including the Special Jury Prize at DOC NYC and Audience Awards at
Indie Memphis and the Chicago Independent Film Festival. Undefeated also had the honor of
making its international debut at The Toronto International Film Festival. Lindsay and Martin
met in 2007 while working on the feature length documentary, Last Cup. The film is a
humorous look at the largest beer-pong tournament in the world. The film premiered at the
2008 Cinevegas Film Festival and had its broadcast premiere on Spike TV in the fall of 2011.
The film was distributed by Virgil Films under the Morgan Spurlock Presents banner. Sports
Illustrated included it in their 2011 Year in Sports Media, calling it a “winning
documentary.” Lindsay and Martin have also produced, directed and edited several short-form
pieces across various platforms and genres. They are currently finishing a short documentary
entitled My Favorite Picture of You. The filmmakers both got their start by making independent documentaries. Lindsay’s first
film as a director was the short documentary Why US?, which explores the roots of the 9/11 attack on the United States. The
film was purchased by The Discovery Network and was broadcast in 2003. Martin’s first film, A Day of Hype in America,
follows four Americans over the course of 24 hours as they prepare for the transition into the new Millennium. The film won
the best documentary award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2003. Lindsay was born and raised in Rockford,
IL and graduated from the University of Missouri in 2001. Martin was born and raised in Seattle, WA and attended Western
Washington University.
Questions for Discussion – Undefeated
• Why do you believe that Coach Bill Courtney is so devoted to this football team? In many of the boys’ lives
he fills the role of a father figure. What role do the players fill in the coach’s life?
• Why do you believe Coach Courtney is able to make such a positive impact the lives of the students? What
personalities traits and values allow him to do so? Have you had any teachers, coaches or mentors who have
impacted your life in a similar way? Or do you play this role in the lives of any young people?
• Coach Courtney is the white coach of an all black team, but race is never mentioned in the film. In your
opinion, do you believe that the filmmakers should have addressed the issue of race more overtly?
• What does Undefeated convey about the importance of putting the group before the individual? What role
does the community that Courtney builds play in the lives of each of the boys?
• What did you find most poignant about the film? How did you feel at the end of the film when the coach
reveals that he will stop coaching?
• Would you devote as much time and energy to a group of people in your community? Have you done
anything like that in the past?