ICEF Rugby students tell their story in the documentary “An American Rugby Odyssey: Fiji-NZ The Student Cut.” The documentary consists of footage shot by students when they traveled to New Zealand and Fiji in 2023. Along with filming footage of rugby matches, activities, and sightseeing, the students interviewed each other on camera.
ICEF girl’s rugby coach Lisa Finegan was selected in the 2023 “Champions Educate Here” Legacy program. The award came with grant money that Finegan used to buy cameras and Go Pros so that the youth could chronicle their experiences competing oversees.
Filmmaker James Brown taught the rugby players about filmmaking, and camera operating. He was the director of “An American Rugby Odyssey: Fiji-NZ The Student Cut,” taking all the footage the students captured and editing it down to a film.
“He’s impacting the kids and showing them how to express themselves in different ways,” ICEF boy’s rugby coach Stuart Krohn said.
Related Stories
Fairfax Beats LA High During Centennial Celebration
Paralympian Arelle Middleton Competes in Shot Put, Discus Throw
Recent View Park graduate Kloey Bacchus helped with creating the documentary.
“It just so happened that I recorded a lot of key moments,” Bacchus said. “I was kind of in the editing process, I’ve seen some of the cuts. There were some things where I put my input in.”
The new equipment also helped the students with their self-expression project: an assignment each rugby player must do that shows their perspective of the trip. It also gave students who aspire to be photographers and filmmakers more insight into the career path.
“I’m so proud of each and every single one of my teammates,” Bacchus said. “I love seeing them do what they love because that makes me happy.”
The documentary premiered at the Cinemark Baldwin Hills Theatre, formerly the Magic Johnson Theatre. Parents, students, alumni, and different organizations came out to learn more about the students of ICEF Rugby.
“We did this screening of which there was about 50 kids there … A lot of them didn’t know nothing about it, they weren’t all Rugby players,” Krohn said. “Getting feedback from all them and non-rugby kids as well, I think it’s worth doing it again.”
Watching the documentary brought back positive memories for Bacchus, the culture and atmosphere of Fiji reminded her of Saint Vincent: the homeland of her family.
“It was nice to revisit it, it felt so refreshing,” Bacchus said. “They know what it means to have those connections and even though we were strangers, they welcomed us in and we were a family within two seconds.”
