ESPN Films’ new 30 for 30 Short, “Brave in the Attempt,” will premiere on July 25, at 7:30 p.m. ET, kicking off the coverage of The 2015 Special Olympics World Games on ESPN. The film is executive produced by Peabody- and Emmy award-winning journalist, author and social activist Maria Shriver and focuses on the life of her mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics. “Brave in the Attempt” is directed by Peabody- and Emmy-winning filmmaker Fritz Mitchell.
The Special Olympics Athlete Oath: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt.” has come to embody the movement started by the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1962 with a summer camp in her Maryland backyard. Special Olympics is now made up of more than 4.5 million athletes all over the world, and in this powerful and moving exploration viewers will see how this world-changing social action, sports & political initiative was born, and why its growth is so important. “Brave in the Attempt” captures the force of nature that was Eunice Shriver and shows how her personal mission, inspired by her sister Rosemary Kennedy’s own struggles with inclusion, to improve the lives of children and adults with intellectual disabilities eventually developed into the Special Olympics movement.
“I am so proud to have worked with ESPN on a film showcasing my mother’s legacy,” says Maria Shriver. “She used Special Olympics to change the world for those with intellectual disabilities – not only on the playing field, but also politically, and in the hearts and minds of millions around the world. “Brave in the Attempt” shows my mother’s passion, and fight for those who weren’t included or valued. I’m happy it’s coinciding with the Special Olympics World Games & the release of a national survey from the “Shriver Report Snapshot: Insight into Intellectual Disability in the 21st Century.”
The July 25 debut of “Brave in the Attempt” will be followed on ESPN by Countdown to the Special Olympics World Games with Robin Roberts (8 p.m. ET) and ESPN’s live, three-hour coverage of the Special Olympics World Games Opening Ceremony (9 p.m. ET). The film will have a digital premiere on Grantland.com on July 28 and will re-air several times throughout ESPN’s coverage of the Special Olympics World Games.
ESPN Films’ Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 Shorts series first premiered September 26, 2012 on Grantland.com, and featured short films on topics including the “Arnold Palmer” beverage, the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card and a mixed Palestinian-Israeli youth soccer team.
The 24th Special Olympics World Games will take place over 10 days in Los Angeles beginning July 25, 2015. Every two years, Special Olympics athletes come together to compete at the Special Olympics World Games. Nearly 7,000 athletes from 165 countries will be competing in 25 different sports at venues throughout Los Angeles, including USC and UCLA.