Three teenagers battle their way through the world of competitive ping pong with their hearts set on the Olympics.

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Educational Use

San Jose j-Town Film Fest - San Jose, CA

Sat, May 21, 2016, 11am
Northside Community Center
488 N 6th St, San Jose, CA 95112

Seattle Asian American Film Festival - Seattle, WA

Fri, February 19, 2016, 7 pm
Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave Seattle, WA 98122

cleveland museum Of art - cleveland, oh

Fri, November 27, 2015, 7pm
The Cleveland Museum of Art
11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44106

roxie theater - san francisco, ca

Sat, November 21, 2015, 7pm
Roxie Theater
3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA

*Q&A with filmmaker Sara Newens

Gold Coast international film festival - long island, ny

Sun, November 15, 2015, 4:30pm
Soundview Cinema - Port Washington (Aud4)
7 Soundview Market Pl, Port Washington, NY 11050

Austin Asian American Film Festival - Austin, Tx

Sat, November 14, 2015, 12:30pm
The Marchesa Hall & Theatre
6226 Middle Fiskville Rd., Austin TX 78752

*Q&A with filmmaker Sara Newens

cine-world Film festival - sarasota, fl

November 10-12, 2015
Burns Court Cinemas, 506 Burns Lane, Sarasota, FL 34236
Lakewood Ranch Cinemas, 10715 Rodeo Drive #8, Sarasota, FL 34202

NYC Theatrical release - New york City, NY

October 23-29
Cinema Village
22 E 12th St, New York, NY

*Q&A w/ filmmakers, players, and Will Shortz on Opening Night (10/23), followed by after party at SPiN New York.

Princeton Garden Theatre - princeton, nj

October 15, 2015
Princeton Garden Theatre
160 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ 08542

*Olympians Ariel Hsing and Erica Wu scheduled to be in attendance.

Seattle Theatrical release - Seattle, WA

September 4-10
The Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St, Seattle, WA

World Theatrical premiere - Los Angeles, CA

August 21-27, 2015
Laemmle Playhouse
673 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA

sf Docfest - San francisco, ca

Sat, June 6, 2015, 12pm
Wed, June 10, 2015, 7pm
Roxie Theatre
3117 16th Street, between Valencia and Guerrero, San Francisco, CA

Lighthouse international Film Festival - long beach island, nJ

Sat, June 6, 2015, 6pm
LBI Foundation For the Arts and Sciences
120 Long Beach Boulevard, Loveladies, NJ

Montclair Film Festival - Montclair, NJ

Fri, May 8, 2015, 7pm
Sat, May 9, 2015, 1:30pm

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival - Los Angeles, CA

Sun, April 26, 2015, 1pm
Downtown Independent
251 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Join us for the afterparty, featuring a live ping pong exhibition with the members of the U.S. Olympic Women's Table Tennis Team!

Sun, April 26, 3-5pm
SPiN Standard
550 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Independent Film Festival Boston - Boston, Ma

Fri, April 24, 2015, 7:00 PM

San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase - San Diego, CA

Thurs, April 23, 2015, 6:30pm 

Nashville Film Festival - Nashville, TN

Sat, April 18, 2015, 4pm
Sun, April 19, 2015, 12:30pm

FLorida FIlm Festival - Orlando, Fl

Sat, April 18, 2015, 11:45AM

TIFF Kids International Film Festival - Toronto, Canada

Tue, April 7, 2015, 10:15am
Wed, April 15, 2015, 10:15am
Sat, April 18, 2015, 12:45pm

American Documentary Film Festival - Palm Springs, CA

Oliphant Auditorium
36945 Cook Street, Palm Desert, CA 92211
March 27, 2015 12:30 pm

Camelot Theatres
2300 East Baristo Road, Palm Springs, CA 92262
March 30, 2015 11:00 am

caamfest - san francisco, ca

New People Cinema
1746 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
March 14, 2015 at 7:00 pm

Join us for a ping pong demo with the stars of Top Spin!
Japantown Peace Plaza, 5:15 -5:45pm on March 14
1610 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115

New Parkway Theater
474 24th Street, Oakland, CA 94612
March 22, 2015 at 12:30 pm

Join us after the screening on March 14 for the afterparty (location TBA) featuring a live ping pong exhibition with the film's subjects!

Salem Film Fest - Salem, MA

CinemaSalem Screening Room
2 Church Street, Salem, Massachusetts, 01970
Friday, March 6, 2015 6:30 pm
Saturday, March 7, 2015 2:15 pm & 6:30 pm
Sunday, March 8, 2015 2:15 pm; 6:30 pm & 8:15 pm
Monday, March 9, 2015 6:30 pm
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 6:30 pm

BIG SKY documentary film festival - Missoula, MT

Wilma Theatre
131 South Higgins Avenue
Missoula, MT 59802

Thu, Feb 12 at 4:00 PM
Sun, Feb 15 at 5:15 PM

world Premiere at DOC NYC

Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 4:30pm
SVA Theatre
333 W. 23rd St. (b/t 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, NY 10011

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Join us for the afterparty, featuring a live ping pong exhibition with the film's subjects and members of the U.S. Olympic Women's Table Tennis Team!

Saturday, November 15 at 6:30 - 8pm
SPiN New York 
48 E. 23rd St.
New York, NY 10010


Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of one of the most under-appreciated sports in America, three teenagers battle their way through the world of competitive ping pong. While facing the unusual challenges coming of age in a niche sport, their journey reveals the passion it takes to pursue their Olympic-sized dreams.

subjects

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Ariel

Ariel Hsing has aspirations to be the best table tennis player in the world and she is off to a great start. At 16, she is already a two-time U.S. Women's Table Tennis Champion. A San Jose native, Ariel wakes up every morning at 7am to practice serves before going to class. Training can last up to six hours a day at various clubs around the Bay Area. Along with her parents, Ariel has devoted her entire life to table tennis, with the hope of one day becoming an Olympian.

 


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MICHael

In 2009, Michael Landers became the youngest U.S. Men's Table Tennis Champion at the ripe age of 15. Hailing from Long island, New York, Michael spends summers training in central China but most of the time you can find him playing at SPiN, a ping pong social club in Manhattan. At 17, Michael has learned the meaning of sacrifice, having given up his last year of high school for what may be his only chance at making it to the 2012 London Olympics.

 


Lily

At one point, fifteen-year-old Lily Zhang was ranked second in the world in her age group, a first for any American-born table tennis player. Born and raised in Palo Alto, Lily got her start at the age of seven when she and her family played table tennis in the laundry room of the Stanford faculty apartments where her father taught math. Her evenings and weekends consist of training and she often misses school due to overseas tournaments. It is her love for the sport and the dream of playing in her first Olympics that keeps her motivated and committed to table tennis, the ultimate underdog sport.

 

Trailer

Crew

Mina T. Son, Director/Producer
Mina is a Los Angeles-based Korean American filmmaker whose films have screened at film festivals and museums including the National Gallery of Art, Margaret Mead, Traverse City, Mill Valley, and Cinequest. A two-time Student Academy Award Regional Finalist, Mina has been awarded fellowships and funding from Independent Television Service, Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts, Film Independent, PBS/CPB Producers Academy, the Japan U.S. Friendship Commission, and Center for Cultural Innovation. Mina holds an M.F.A. in Documentary Film from Stanford University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jonathan Bricklin, Executive Producer
Jonathan did not invent the game of ping-pong, although he does sometimes take credit for it, having co-founded a chain of intergalactic ping-pong social clubs called SPiN. When not ping-ponging Jonathan writes books and makes documentary films. He lives in Manhattan, has no children, pets or plants.

Yen Le, Co-Producer
Yen is a producer based in San Francisco. 

 

JJ & Chris, Composers
JJ & Chris are Sundance Fellow Composers who have amassed an impressive list of credits in a short amount of time. Their background in classical and jazz composition account for the lush, sophisticated orchestral scores with hints of jazz harmony that are hallmarks of their music. They have composed for network TV shows ("Detroit 187", "At The Movies"), indie films and documentaries ("One Punk Under God", “The Hacker Wars”) and video games ("Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands", "Transformers 2”, “Firefall”). More details of their work and news can be found on their website, www.epicwavestudios.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Sara Newens, Director/Editor
Sara is a documentary filmmaker and editor who has worked in film and television for over a decade, including seven years at CBS News in New York City. Her films have screened at numerous festivals, including Sarasota, Traverse City, Starz Denver, Big Sky and Rooftop Films. She is the recipient of a Princess Grace Foundation Award, CINE Golden Eagle Award, and a Student Academy Award Regional Finalist. Currently, she is a San Francisco-based producer/editor for clients that include Facebook, PG&E, Stanford University School of Medicine, and various non-profits. She is a graduate of the M.F.A. Documentary Film Program at Stanford University, and received a B.S. in Mass Communication from Miami University of Ohio.

Franck Raharinosy, Executive Producer
Franck is an actor, writer, producer, ping pong provocateur and co-founder of SPiN, a chain of ping pong social clubs. He lives in New York City.

Summers Henderson, Co-Editor
Summers is a documentary filmmaker and video editor in Oakland, California.  He was born in Dallas, Texas, studied film and literature at Wesleyan University, and earned a master's degree in film studies from the University of Texas.  In 2008 he received a master's degree in documentary video production from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.  He worked as editor on "Informant," which won the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC, and as associate editor on "Kings Point," which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.


Jenine Early, Motion Graphics
Jenine is a Chicago based motion graphics and 3D designer whose work can be found on screens both big and small. She launched herself into a successful freelancing career in 2004 where she's worked on documentaries, feature films and television series airing on networks such as History Channel, PBS and Fox. Jenine honed her skills as an artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she discovered how to combine her love for film, imagery and graphics into motion design. And, how to load and shoot a 16mm Bolex.