Ball State Sports Link, in partnership with Cardiff Met Sport Broadcast, will present its feature-length documentary, Transatlantic Storytelling 2020, with a world digital premiere June 30.

For viewers in the United Kingdom, the debut will be in primetime at 8 p.m. For viewers in the United States, the start time is 3 p.m (ET). 

Direct links can be found through each program’s social media accounts — @bsusportslink, @MetBroadcast and @CMetSportTV.

The initial release of the documentary, produced entirely by students from Ball State’s Emmy award-winning Sports Link program, will be streamed live on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the project’s official website, www.transatlanticstorytelling.com. 

In addition, student producers and athletes featured in the film will be engaging on social media using the hashtag #TransatlanticStorytelling throughout the live stream.

Following the June 30 digital premiere, the documentary will then be edited into a 58-minute version released for linear television stations and film festivals — along with additional digital platforms — in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

“We’re excited for the initial release June 30,” said Zach Roy, a Ball State student who is the film’s executive producer and director. “It’s certainly been a challenge to put this together after coming home to a global pandemic. Thankfully, our team has been able to virtually come together, edit remotely and craft something we are all proud of. 

“Traveling to Wales to create this documentary was an experience and a story in itself. The many relationships we built will last a lifetime. The whole project is something I will never forget.”

The groundbreaking documentary features seven exclusive stories, with 22 different interviews, and stunning visuals from throughout Cardiff and Wales. 

• Sam Gordon is the fastest man in Wales, owning multiple records and sprinting towards the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Though always smiling, the elite runner’s surge into the spotlight hasn’t come without setbacks.
  
• Jenny Nesbitt represents Great Britain and Wales as a talented distance runner.  But, as a teenager, the world class athlete faced serious threats to her success
  
• Harrison Walsh, who after a horrific rugby injury ended his promising career, shifted his focus. Now, the world-record holding thrower is aiming for the 2021 Paralympic Games.
  
• Will Godwin is a student at Cardiff Met, who started his athletic career as a triathlete and rower until two freak accidents changed his life.
  
• Sam Pearce, the Cardiff Met student and captain of the cricket team, is also on the verge of a professional career in one of the world’s most popular sports.
  
• Lydia Hitchings, a student in Cardiff Met’s School of Art and design, grew up playing netball.  Now, a professional player, she has a goal of playing in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
  
• Dr. Christian Edwards is the men’s soccer coach at Cardiff Met and guided his team to the 2019 UEFA Europa League.  Six months later, he collapsed on the pitch.

About The Project:

Transatlantic Storytelling is an immersive learning, global storytelling project between students at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and Cardiff Metropolitan University in Cardiff, Wales.

Ball State students collaborated with Cardiff Met students on identifying, developing and producing feature stories on Welsh athletes. 

While on the ground in Cardiff, Wales, for 12 days in late February to March, students worked together to capture footage, scenes and interviews with the athletes. 

In 2019, Ball State and Cardiff Met agreed to a five-year understanding which recognizes the mutual benefits of an educational partnership, which in part will lead to collaboration, opportunities and faculty/student engagement.

Additional Media Information:

For media outlets, tv stations and other platforms wishing to air the documentary at no charge, please contact Joe Towns from Cardiff Met (JTowns@cardiffmet.ac.uk) or Chris Taylor from Ball State (ctaylor@bsu.edu).


Additional information, including student blogs, athlete blogs, photo galleries and video can be found at www.transatlanticstorytelling.com.