''Going the Distance'' is a 1979 Canadian

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by Paul Cowan about the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

, and produced by Robert Verrall and Jacques Bobet, it was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Documentary Feature. Cowan, who had been chosen for the project on the basis of his previous sports specials, shot most of the film himself, delegating second-unit segments to Reevan Dolgoy, Georges Dufaux, Beverly Shaffer, Pierre Letarte and Tony Westman. Cowan chose to focus on eight athletes from four continents, including four Canadians: Toronto boxer John Raftery, thirteen-year-old Winnipeg gymnast Monica Goermann, and divers

Linda Cuthbert Linda Cuthbert (born May 20, 1956) is a Canadian former diver and present sports director of Commonwealth Sport Canada since 2006, having also served as a technical official for several commonwealth games. During her diving career, Cuthbert won ...

and

Janet Nutter Janet Ruth Nutter (born April 2, 1953) is a retired diver from Canada, who was supposed to represent her native country at the 1980 Summer Olympics, but failed to do so after the boycott. A resident of Thornhill, Ontario she twice won a medal at ...

. Also featured was New Zealand weightlifter

Precious McKenzie Precious Patrick McKenzie (born 6 June 1936) is a South African-born former weightlifter who won Commonwealth titles representing both England and New Zealand and has won several World powerlifting and Masters World powerlifting titles. He is ...

. Athletes were filmed prior to the Games as well as in competition at the games in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. The film had a budget of $840,000 (). Its broadcast premiere was on the CTV Television Network on August 4, 1979.

Awards

* C.I.D.A.L.C. International Festival of Sports Films,

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

: First Prize, Gold Plaque, 1982 *Commonwealth Television and Film Festival, Nicosia: Best Film of the Festival, 1980 *

52nd Academy Awards The 52nd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1979 and took place on April 14, 1980, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p ...

, Los Angeles: Nominee: Best Documentary Feature, 1980

References

Works cited

External links

* *Watc
''Going the Distance''
at NFB.ca 1979 films 1979 documentary films

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

Canadian sports documentary films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Paul Cowan Films shot in Edmonton Films produced by Robert Verrall Films produced by Jacques Bobet National Film Board of Canada documentaries 1970s English-language films 1970s Canadian films {{sport-documentary-film-stub