Not only is Eugene hosting the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials on the University’s own Hayward Field, but it will also be privy to another groundbreaking moment: the first North American film festival devoted exclusively to the sport of running.
The Running Film Festival is the brainchild of Phil Knowlton, former cross country and track college athlete turned New York City film producer. Knowlton expressed how important movies like “Prefontaine” and “Without Limits” are for the sport, but since high school track and field he has always wished there was a wider variety of running movies to choose from.
Now there are.
Knowlton was first inspired to create his own film festival focused on running when he saw the degree of enthusiasm the bike community held toward a similarly themed festival on bikes. He thought, why not organize a similar event for track enthusiasts? So he did.
Knowlton contacted his close friend and fellow college athlete Jake Klim, who is now a TV producer in Washington D.C.
Together they spent months reaching out to filmmakers and athletes alike, trying to gauge the level of interest and participation in the event. It worked.
The event now has several sponsors including Nissan, Running Times Magazine and TheFinalSprint.com, whose editor in chief, Adam Jacobs, is the third organizer for the festival.
RunnerSpace.com, a local organization based in Eugene, is also helping out with promotion and planning. Jacobs said the support for the event from other running media organizations has been astounding.
“The running community is really a family, and even though we’re competing media venues we go out of our way to support one another,” he said.
Most of the films shown at the festival will be newly produced. Jacobs said the oldest, “Showdown,” is only about a year old. The festival will also screen 30 minutes of interviews from the forthcoming collector’s edition of the 1995 documentary “Fire on the Track.” Feature-length films also include “The Long Green Line,” “Run Like Hell,” “Indulgence” and “Run Like a Girl.”
As a bonus, the six showings will include sneak peaks of feature documentaries still in production. “Born to Run,” “The Olympic Militia” and “Chasing Bolt” are a few of the many future running films previewed at the festival.
Jacobs said a portion of the proceeds from the film festival will be donated to the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund. Shay died suddenly from a heart defect at the Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City last November. The fund supports runners in their quests to accomplish great feats, despite financial or physical disadvantages.
Jacobs said tickets are expected to sell out. The festival takes place in Columbia Hall 150 on July 3, 4 and 5, with two showings per day. Each showing can hold up to 500 movie-goers, and the film schedule will not interfere with the Trials.
Jacobs emphasized how important it is for the track community members to support their own, including those documenting the sport. And the Running Film Festival may be an excellent first step.
“We wanted to provide an opportunity for film makers to show their films,” Jacobs said. “Generally, they don’t have those avenues of exposure.”