Women’s track and field unique documentary is set for Central Oregon showing at Sisters Movie House on Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 1pm.
 
We Grew Wings, a unique documentary film chronicling the untold story of the University of Oregon (UO) women’s track and field team and the progression of women’s sports over the last 40 years since Title IX’s passing.

We Grew Wings is a story of camaraderie, teamwork, struggles and triumphs by Portland-based filmmakers. Executive producer, Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, teamed with directors/producers Erich Lyttle and Sarah Henderson, who brought in narrator Katharine Ross, to tell this fascinating and often overlooked story of the University of Oregon women’s track and field team. Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, an accomplished UO runner during the late seventies, envisioned the need to tell the story of an incredible era in women’s track and field. Over the past two years she has worked closely with the creative team, compiling interviews, film clips and searching archives to enrich this timely film. While the well-known UO men’s track and field dominated the spotlight, the early women’s track program strove to break new ground just as Title IX was presenting challenges and opportunities for universities across the country. The project received  valuable consultation from the past UO Women’s Head Coach, Tom Heinonen, as well as current track and field icon, Vin Lananna.  

Erich Lyttle is an Emmy Award winning director, writer and producer with almost 30 years of experience crafting documentaries, television series and films. He has a deep knowledge of the track and field world, directing Fire on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story, Builderman, a perspective of Bill Bowerman’s life, and co-producing There is No Finish Line, the Joan Benoit Samuelson story with filmmaker, Sarah Henderson. In her feature directorial debut, Sarah Henderson also serves as director of photography and music supervisor on We Grew Wings combining a beautiful arrangement of photography and music. Her direction brought some renowned musicians into the project, led by composer John Morgan Askew, and such artists as Radiation City (voted Portland’s best new band by Willamette Week, courtesy of Tender Loving Empire), Cory Gray of Carcrashlander, Rebecca Gates, Obo Addy and Naomi Shelton and The Gospel Queens (courtesy of Daptone Records). Narrator Katharine Ross (The Graduate, Donny Darko) blends her voice with the stellar soundtrack mixed by musician and sound designer, Jason Wells, artfully connecting the story’s mirrored generations from sound to picture.  

We Grew Wings made its world premiere in Eugene, Oregon during the 2012 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials. Film narrator Katharine Ross, 2012 800m Olympian Alysia Montaño, and Olympic Trials 5000m finalist Lauren Fleshman all attended the premiere. In addition, several athletes featured in the film including Quenna Beasley, Claudette Groenendaal, Kathy Hayes, Melissa Gergel, and Mandy White were present at the premiere. After seeing the film, Lauren

Fleshman said, “This is a film every mother should bring her daughter to see.”