SYNOPSIS
In this poignant and aspirational short film, ONE explores the emotional journey of athletes, capturing both the thrill of peak performance and the challenges of transitioning out of competitive sports. Through the story of a swimmer confronting the void left after their athletic career ends, the film vividly portrays the camaraderie, triumphs, and intense adrenaline of competition, alongside the profound mental health challenges that can often follow once it ends. With themes of identity loss and rediscovery of purpose, the narrative ultimately offers hope and strength to anyone facing their own struggles.

TAGLINE
From Triumph to Trial: An animated journey illustrating the thrill of competition and the hidden battles after the final buzzer sounds.

ABOUT THE FILM
Sports play an important role in many people's lives. Through the lens of one individual’s quest for meaning, purpose, and identity, our film follows the highs and lows of a competitive swimmer and sheds light on the often-overlooked struggle faced by young adults when leaving organized sports behind.

ONE, follows our main character's pull to swimming after early life trauma (bullying), the highs associated with competition, the lows felt once the athletic career is behind him and the personal growth necessary to build a meaningful life after organized athletics is finished. Habits and coping mechanisms that can empower people at ONE stage of their lives might chain them down in the next. This film illustrates those highs and lows, the ups and down that are inherent in the universal journey we all take from ONE stage of life to the next.

Regardless of the area, the world of "sport" is core to human culture. It can be an escape from poverty, family dysfunction, abuse, bullying, etc. It is a haven for discipline, social life and achievement.

With many collegiate athletes devoting much of their adolescent life to their sport, it is often a culture shock when the structured foundations of their chosen sport ends and they are forced to find new outlets for their personal growth and purpose. Very often, ONE's identity can be wrapped up in whatever phase of life we are in at the time whether it's a sport, a job, a relationship. When life takes us in a new direction, the challenge of finding new purpose and meaning can be very real and often difficult. Our hope is that ONE can both entertain and spark some discussion about transitioning successfully through stages of our lives.

Aaron Cole and Thomas E. Richner were both swimmers together at Denison University in the late 1990's. The bonds formed through sports are strong and we stayed in touch after graduation, seeing each other at Master's swim meets and at Denison alumni events over the years.

BIOS
Almost three years ago, Aaron brought a story to Tom that he passionately wanted to tell and the two ruminated on it for close to a year. Working full time, Aaron a Principal at Edward Jones and Tom as an animation artist on The Simpsons and former teacher, finding the time to carve out of their schedules and commit to the film was difficult. Then, over dinner at the Granville Inn during homecoming weekend two years ago, Aaron and Tom committed to making this film.

Aaron brought a story to the table and the two worked on the concepts, developing storyboards and animatics, critiquing along the way with the help of friends until the story worked for us and we felt ready to move into production. We had around twenty artists work on this film from across the country. They ranged from still in school, to recent grads and a few professional animators Tom has worked with over the years.

Today, we're very proud, after seeing the story grow and mature, to release this film into the world. We hope that it sparks discussions about mental health and dealing with life after sports, transitioning from ONE stage of life to the next, a topic we don't discuss enough as young adults. As athletes we often jump into careers and families and sometimes feel a hole left by the absence of our previous lives... where we pushed ourselves harder than we thought we could, shared that experience with teammates that we loved and laughed with, and which provided feelings before a big race or game that can but fractionally be felt after.

We invite you to watch and enjoy our film ONE and look forward to seeing it out in the world!