A BORDERS filmmaker plans to travel the world with a leading wheelchair tennis player in a bid to create the first feature-length documentary on the sport.
Angus Webster, 28, has set his sights on following Sam Schröder’s journey in 2024 as the quad athlete targets success in grand slam events and the Paralympics.
The documentary has attracted investment from a major sportswear company, but Webster and filmmaking partner Christina Lao are trying to secure a further £200,000 in the coming weeks through a crowdfunding campaign.
Webster said: “I made the decision to pursue filmmaking during lockdown, so to now have the opportunity to create something of this scale… It’s a position I didn’t expect to be in.”
Schröder, 24, was born with split hand/foot syndrome and had undergone 30 surgeries by the age of 16. He competes by strapping his racket to his hand using tape.
The Dutchman is also a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with colon cancer at 18. Following chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he had surgery to remove his colon and was fitted with a stoma.
Since then, Schröder has won five grand slam singles titles and eight in the doubles competitions. He is currently world number one for doubles and number two for singles, behind his doubles partner and compatriot Niels Vink.
The idea for a film on Schröder was suggested by HEAD Sport GmbH, his sponsor, which approached Lao after sponsoring a previous film of hers on another wheelchair tennis player.
Lao then invited Webster to become her co-director on the project – described as the first feature-length documentary on wheelchair tennis – after the pair’s experience of working together while enrolled on a documentary-making course in Barcelona.
Webster hopes the film will tour festivals and raise awareness of the challenges faced by athletes with disabilities.
He said: “Parasport is extremely under-valued. Bringing more eyes to parasport is the ultimate goal, and wheelchair tennis specifically, because there are people like Sam who shouldn’t struggle to make a living.”
Schröder is aiming to win the singles at all three grand slams in 2024 – the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon. The US Open has withdrawn the wheelchair events because of a scheduling clash with the Paralympics in Paris.
Schröder is also targeting two gold medals at the Paralympics alongside a return to the top of the singles rankings.
Meanwhile, Webster hopes the film will lead to him making more social documentaries in the future.
He has been carving out a career in the industry for the past couple of years, having originally studied marketing at Edinburgh Napier University.
He went on to gain a masters in digital communications at Queen Margaret University, before heading to Spain for the documentary course run by OTOXO Productions.
In Barcelona, Webster worked with 12 other directors to create feature-length documentary Linea de Salida (‘Starting Line’) about recovering addicts who had been prescribed exercise to help them stay sober.
The money that Webster and Lao are trying to raise for their current project would go towards pre-production, production for a year, travel, living expenses and post-production, with 10 per cent of the crowdfunder total also going to Schröder so he can compete.
HEAD Sport GmbH has already agreed to make a contribution to the budget.
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