(enchanting music)
- [Mike] 'Cause it's a struggle to make films like this.
It requires a lot of personal commitment and effort but it's
it is also very rewarding and it's a great kind of privilege
to be able to tell these stories.
- [Announcer] It's Carpenter moving away from the field.
If you thought the 20.94 was a fluke, look at the clock!
- My name is Mike Todd.
I'm the director of the film "Road Runners".
- My name is Lathan Hodge.
I'm an executive producer on "Road Runners".
- [Mike] "Road Runners" is the story of
a group of high school athletes in Jamaica,
and it's about growing up in Jamaica,
and the challenges that can bring,
especially from the background
of the neighborhood they're from.
But it's also about the significance that
track and field has in Jamaica and athletics,
and specifically the event "Champs",
which is like the national high school
athletics championship.
- The competition is of such high quality that each year
the organizing committee for the championships
has to revise upwards the standards,
because many of these students are from poor backgrounds.
And by virtue of doing exceptionally well
in these championships is one of the means
by which they can gain scholarships
to the United States of America,
and colleges and universities here in Jamaica.
- I grew up in Chicago.
Music, sports, I know, in my community,
it was one of those things where it was always trying to...
That was a way out for a lot of folks,
and I always saw the impact it could make
in the lives of those people and the people around them.
I saw that that story replayed over and over in Chicago,
growing up many, many times.
And then when I moved to Washington, D.C.,
I saw that same story.
Again, it's a constant story.
- We just found Spot Valley High School.
And we found Kerron Grant who was the coach in the film.
And he had these kids who came from the neighborhood.
- I mean, we go out together, we laugh together,
we eat together, we cook together,
we share jokes together, we share our problems together,
so, you know, we are like family, right?
Father and son.
- Essentially, we've got a very narrow
window of opportunity that they can exploit.
Very limited chance to really show what they could
be capable of and change their life through their own efforts.
And, running is, in Jamaica for some people,
it's that pathway.
We filmed with Leyone. One of the young athletes.
I think she was 16 when we were filming her.
Her father was a fisherman.
- I'm Byron, nice to meet you.
Welcome to Jamaica.
- We went out on his fishing boat,
which was quite an experience.
We were just in the middle of the ocean,
and then the engine quits! (Mike laughing)
So we were just floating there.
It started again, but it was a
very intimate slice of life, I think,
to be able to go out there on that mini fishing trip.
- I know she gonna be a champion for Jamaica.
All you do is you try to do the best you can,
because we only here for a time.
(group shouts in celebration)
- That's actually one of my favorite scenes,
'cause it is definitely father-daughter.
It was really a special moment.
- [Byron] Fishing and track and field. She love it.
Why she love fishing more than track and field?
I said, "Get famous. Go do track and field."
Whatever whatever, you never know.
Big up, big up. Four fish, from fresh.
- For free.
(dramatic rising tone)
(muffled announcements)
(upbeat percussive music)
- I think you would struggle to meet some kind of
nicer teenagers than we met during the filming, you know.
There was a, kind of a, as I say,
there was like a steely determination,
but very, very down to earth, really.
Not the kind of boisterous confidence you might see
in teenage athletes or sports stars elsewhere in the world.
They were very single-minded but kind of
quietly confident in their ability,
but not taking anything for granted
because there was a very thin line, really,
for them between success and failure.
I mean, if you see, you look at the footage
we've got of the event of "Champs",
how many of the teenagers are falling over with injuries.
Cause it's so desperate.
They're so desperate to succeed.
- [Announcer] The final three semifinals, class 2 girls.
(crowd cheering)
- I do think there is something about, the kind of,
the structured competition that sport provides
and the opportunity to, the kind of,
the empowerment it can provide.
In many ways, in Jamaica specifically,
the economic opportunity can bring it.
It's a very, very dramatic world sport.
It's filled with kind of stories of triumph,
and failure and drama.
It's kind of an inspiration as well,
just to see that desire to succeed and to, kind of,
make your mark in the world. (crowd cheering)
- [Announcer] Those are the top three.
Who will hold down?