Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival Reception & Featured Screening

Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival showcases documentaries about the African American experience that inspire socially conscious cultural discourse. Our dynamic group of collaborators is committed to fostering an appreciation for documentary films by maintaining a platform for filmmakers to share their work as catalysts for meaningful dialogue.

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice – an American documentary film written and directed by Deborah Riley Draper. Dr. Amy Tiemann, Michael A. Draper, and Blair Underwood (who also narrated the film) are executive producers. While the story of Jesse Owens is well-documented, the film focuses instead on the 17 Black athletes from the United States other than Jesse Owens who participated in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. Most of these other athletes did not receive major news coverage at the time, particularly before the games; and most are still relatively unknown. None of the eighteen athletes were alive at the time of the movie’s production, so Draper used interviews with families, audio footage from historical interviews, newsreels, and newspaper coverage to tell the athletes’ stories.