The woman who refused to sit still
An Israeli wheelchair-badminton champion stars in a documentary about motherhood and a Paralympic dream
Nina Is an Athlete opens with the thwack of a shuttlecock, the blur of a wheelchair in motion, and the determination etched across the face of Israeli champion Nina Gorodetzky. The documentary follows Nina as she sets her sights on her first Paralympic Games in Tokyo, while juggling family life, an ailing parent, and her wish to have a second child.
Filmed over three years, the result is a fast-paced, deeply intimate portrait of an athlete who refuses to let circumstance define her.
Between gruelling training sessions and tender family moments, Nina’s story is one of bravery and belief. Director Ravit Markus, an Israeli-American filmmaker, spent three years documenting Nina’s progress, setbacks, and determination as they unfolded in real time.
“You really are living life with the participants in the film — when they’re sad, you are sad with them. When they’re happy, you’re happy with them,” Markus says. “I was really interested in the story of a woman who is an elite athlete and wants a family, and how she negotiates both.”
When the pandemic delayed the Tokyo Games, Markus thought the film might lose its conclusion.“At first it was like, ‘What do we do now? We don’t have an end for our film.’ But it actually became an important part of the story.”Her personal link to Nina — the two are connected through family — helped shape the film’s candour and trust.
Critics have praised Markus for avoiding clichés and portraying disability without pity, creating what one reviewer described as “a film grounded in truth and naturalism.”
Nina Is an Athlete won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the La Jolla International Film Festival is a clear-eyed portrait of resilience, the film shows Nina not as a symbol but as a woman determined to keep moving on the court and in life. ukjewishfilmfestival2025.eventive.org/welcome
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