ESPN Films Associate Dir of Development Libby Geist was responsible for "helping see productions through, working on thelogo and marketing, and choosing the stories and directors, as well assetting the tone" for the "Nine for IX" series, according to Kara Yorio of the Bergen RECORD. Geist said of the series, "It's been quite an undertaking, but it's been fun." She said, "I thought it was important to find stories that have a real edge to them and kind of show that we have our own history." One of the "biggest challenges for Geist and those working on this series was to narrow it down, pick only nine stories to tell." She said that there was "no story the team desperately wanted to tell that was left out." Some topics "are surprising." Geist said that "No Limits," the story of free diver Audrey Mestre, was the series' "biggest risk ... because it was not about a famous athlete playing a major sport." Geist said that the payoff "comes in the power of the film" and "makes this one of her favorites." Another film, "Let Them Wear Towels," about the "fight of women reporters for access into the locker rooms, was one that had generated some of the longest discussions after screenings and taught Geist a lot about the continuing struggles of women in sports" (
Bergen RECORD, 7/9).
CROSS-COUNTRY DOC: In Knoxville, Dan Fleser notes the film "Pat XO," about Tennessee women's basketball coach emeritus Pat Summitt, debuts tonight at 8:00pm ET as the second installment of the "Nine for IX" series. "Pat XO" co-Dirs Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters "took a broad view of their subject, sending video cameras across the country to gather as many interviews as possible." They "relinquished some control over the production process in hopes of capturing more heartfelt, genuine moments." ESPN Films "Nine for IX" Exec Producer John Dahl said, "It's not going to have the polished look that you normally might see. But what it brings in return is revealing, personal, poignant moments and stories that you really haven't heard before" (KNOXNEWS.com, 7/7).
