The Carnival: 125 Years of the Penn Relays
Directed by Justin Jarrett
Trailer
Fri Apr 5, 2024 – 5:00 pm | Hendricks Arts Center
Sat Apr 6, 2024 – 12:00 pm | Visit Beloit
Sat Apr 6, 2024 – 12:00 pm | Visit Beloit
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The Carnival: 125 Years of the Penn Relays
Directed by Justin Jarrett
Documentary Feature
United States | 75 min | 2023
From Award-Winning Director Justin Jarrett and Emmy Award Winner “JB” James Brown (CBS/Showtime), comes The Carnival: 125 Years of the Penn Relays. For more than a century, The Penn Relays have defied the odds on their way to becoming one of the longest running sporting events in history. From breaking world records to breaking down barriers, they have helped revolutionize the sport of track and field while playing host to everyone from World Champions to Olympic icons and creating a legacy that will last forever.
News & Reviews
AWARDS
Winner of the People’s Choice Award
Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), 2021
The Best Feature Documentary Award
Indy Film Fest, 2022
The Cercle d’or for Best Feature Documentary Award
Sherbrooke World Film Festival, 2022
The Grand Prix Documentary Award
Rising Sun International Film Festival, 2022
The Silver Award for Best Feature Documentary
Tokyo Film Awards, 2022
The Dr. Sydney K. Shapiro Humanitarian Award
Phoenix Film Festival, 2022
The Best Editing of a Documentary Award
Madrid International Film Festival, 2022
The Excellence in Editing Award
Docs Without Borders Film Festival, 2022
The Best Editing Award
Brussels World Film Festival, 2022
REVIEWS
“Truly a rare moment in Cinema… This film is a marvel”
Mélikah Abdelmoumen & Marc Béland, CBC Radio Canada
“An Exquisite Gem. Tenderness, wonder, & dignity…
a beautiful film about beautiful people”
Richard Propes, The Independent Critic
“Anyone who watches Dear Audrey will undoubtedly conclude
that Hayes is a masterful filmmaker”
Charlie Smith, The Georgia Straight
“Touching… luminous… truly magnificent”
Caroline Levesque, CBC Radio Canada
“Dear Audrey, a riveting documentary…
that stands as a powerful paean to passion and perseverance”
Evelyn C White, The Halifax Examiner
“…so many amazing lessons, stories, emotions with pain
and celebration intertwined”
Darren Wiesner, Hollywood North Magazine
“It’s impossible to watch this documentary, (a People’s Choice Award winner), without being overwhelmed by its sweetness and generosity”
Silvia Galipeau, La Press
“…an at once ethereal reflection on the enduring power of love,
and unblinking revelation of life’s steel-cold realities”
Chris Cook, Gorilla Radio
“The central force of Dear Audrey is the eternal, almost implacable force of love that binds people together through the most difficult times”
Dorothy Woodend, The Tyee
“Dear Audrey celebrates the very best the human heart has to offer, with such compassion, artistry and grace”
Terre Nash, Oscar-winning director
“A Stunning Love Story You Won’t Soon Forget!”
Indy Film Fest
“This love story will bring you joy, hope, tears and humility…”
Dr. Jen Hammersmark, Mind Your Madness
“…a beautiful homage to Audrey, to the couple’s
love and their family”
Nantali Indongo, CBC Radio
“Beautiful, touching … ‘Dear Audrey’ is a testament to
what Audrey was and what she remains forever”
Rob Wilson, The Bobr Times
“Poignant and could not be more authentic”
Amandine de Chanteloup, Le Collectif
Director Statement
Every film has its own set of challenges, but this one came with a laundry list.
With so many iconic moments and great performances throughout its existence, we really had to hone in on overarching themes as opposed to individuals, because the Relays have always been larger than one athlete. We really had to do our research to pick and choose which stories to include and then figure out if there was archival footage or photography of that particular year. In many cases, there wasn’t. Especially in the early years. During the first twenty some odd years of the relays, film footage of the event didn’t exist because the technology was in its infancy. This proved to be a challenge on more than one occasion and we had to find other mechanisms to tell that part of the story.
From a production standpoint, we were only able to film one modern Penn Relays – the 125th anniversary. What we didn’t know at the time, however, was that it would be the end of the 125 year consecutive streak due to COVID19, with the 126th running canceled. We actually found this out during the post- production process (which took place during Philadelphia’s stay at home order). This resulted in us having to adjust some of our creative decisions pretty late in the game. Needless to say, working as a remote team also had its own set of unique challenges, especially with the amount of archival footage we were dealing with throughout the process. I can’t say enough about how thankful I am for such a great diverse, team and how they persevered throughout the entire process under incredible circumstances.
In a time when our country couldn’t be more divided, it was a joy to tell a story that involved bringing people together and embracing our differences. By the end of the project, I had such a beautiful experience and developed an incredible amount of admiration for the way sports can unite us.
Justin Jarrett
Director
Justin Jarrett is an award-winning Writer, Director, and Producer based out of Philadelphia. He has written and directed over 200 television shows, commercials, shorts, and feature-length documentaries on five different continents while acting as Principal Director of East Coast Production company, JTWO Films. He directed his first feature-length project, For Aaron The Documentary, at the age of 21 and has since had his work featured on the Discovery Channel, ESPN, CBS, Science Channel and the American Heroes Channel.
