First Official Film of the Paralympic Games

The IPC is very excited to find partners with the reputation of WGBH and PBS to showcase the amazing stories and accomplishments of Paralympic athletes and raise awareness for the Paralympic Movement.”

The documentary will focus on the events and experiences of the Paralympic Games and is scheduled for a two-hour, primetime broadcast on the US channel PBS in Winter 2009. ‘Paralympics 2008’ is produced by WGBH Boston with the assistance of the IPC. WGBH will also distribute the official film of the Games internationally via broadcast and DVD.

‘Paralympics 2008’ will be the first official film ever made about Paralympic Games. Said IPC President Sir Philip Craven: “The IPC is very excited to find partners with the reputation of WGBH and PBS to showcase the amazing stories and accomplishments of Paralympic athletes and raise awareness for the Paralympic Movement.”

‘Paralympics 2008’ will begin filming in the spring 2008 training season, when the producers will select athletes from various countries whose stories will be the core of the film. The production crew will follow these athletes closely through the intensive pre-Games preparation phase. The athletes will be filmed at trials, at sports camps and at home, offering viewers a chance to get to know them and exploring their personal stories. These stories will be the emotional heart of the programme, which will be built on a chronology that leads, day by day, training session by training session, to Beijing.

In addition to the documentary film, the project will launch a website at www.pbs.org which will feature links to coverage of the Games, video clips of the athletes who will be featured in the film, and a streamed version of the documentary. Additional materials, including a toolkit targeted to schools will be added to the website, making it a rich and lasting destination for students and for viewers around the world.

For information about ‘Paralympics 2008’, please contact Susan Barrett, WGBH National Marketing at susan_barrett@wgbh.org.