Former Dunwoody resident Casey Shaw – the producer, director and co-writer/engineer of the sports documentary “Unseen Olympiad” – debuted the first cut of the film Sept. 18 at the Plaza Theatre.
“Unseen Olympiad” was filmed during the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, NY and the 2023 FISU Summer World University Games in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
“Using the smallest village [Lake Placid] and the largest city [Chengdu] to ever host the Games since their inception in 1959 as the backdrop, the film illuminates the sport and cultural contrasts between the two Games,” said Alan Shaw, co-producer of the film and Casey’s father.
Alan said the 52-minute film was shot with a single 16mm camera, which lends the movie a more grainy look reminiscent of early documentaries often seen in movie theaters. Another unique feature, Alan said, is that the movie has been translated into six languages to give it “a more global perspective than many films and further illuminate the similarities between the athletes regardless of where they’re from.”
Casey said international sporting events have been an integral part of his life, even before his birth.
“My parent’s first official date was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Opening Ceremony, and I was raised in Atlanta because my family moved there for my dad to work for the [Olympic] Games,” he said. “I have attended twelve Olympic Games, four World University Games, and a Women’s World Cup.”
After attending school in New Orleans, Casey worked for the next seven years in the New Orleans film industry. With his combined experience both as a spectator and an industry professional, Casey said he had a different take on the competitive process.
“What would an Olympics shot by folks from New Orleans and the South look like? What stories would be told differently?” he said.
“Unseen Olympiad,” Casey said, is the first step towards answering that question. In order to achieve his goal of working on the Olympic stage and providing his unique perspective, Casey said his team is working “to create undeniable creative work that rivals the world’s top artists; plus, we need to have Olympic sports-style material on our reel to justify our access to the world’s stage.”
Alan said the film, which took two years to make and was filmed in seven different countries, was well-received at the Plaza screening.
“The screening was well-attended, and the audience was engaged and seemed to really enjoy the film,” Alan said. “The theater was beautiful, and the film’s stunning visual imagery looked even more remarkable on the big screen.”
The group developing the film is still raising funds to add the finishing touches to it, including color-enhancing, adding more original music and translating the film to more languages. Alan said the goal is for it to be selected for large international film festivals in 2025.
