Samsung Sponsors Olympic Games Documentary On Rio 2016 Unknowns

Long-running Olympics sponsor Samsung "will be sponsoring a documentary in the run-up to the games about four hopefuls from developing nations," according to Shona Ghosh of MARKETING MAGAZINE. Called "A Fighting Chance," the documentary "follows marathon runner Tsepo Mathibelle, from Lesotho in southern Africa; beach volleyball players Miller Pata and Linline Matauatu from Vanautu, a South Pacific island; and boxer Yenebier Guillen Benitez, from the Dominican Republic." All four "have faced severe challenges in competing, variously having to support their entire families, lacking the right nutrients for training and battling gender stereotypes." Samsung Exec VP of Global Marketing Younghee Lee said, "Samsung is in a unique position to tell the untold stories of these athletes because we live the same dreams of being extraordinary and pushing limits to achieve the impossible" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 3/15). Academy Award winning filmmaker Morgan Neville directed the documentary. Neville, known for his ability to make relatively unknown subjects become the stars, took a unique approach to bringing these stories to life through documentary storytelling. He spent time in each athlete’s home country, where he conducted intimate interviews with the Olympic Games hopefuls (Samsung).