French cyclist Anne-Sophie Centis, French triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant and French wheelchair rugby player Cédric Nankin, but also American cyclist Oksana Masters, Brazilian swimmer Gabriel Araujo and Afghan taekwondo practitioner Zakia Khudadadi… These six para-athletes are the actors in the documentary Body and souldirected by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai.
Broadcast on Tuesday, August 20 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2, the film follows the preparation of these six competitors, in search of qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. For franceinfo, the two directors look back at the genesis of this project and the perspective they have on disabled sport, on which the cameras will be focused for two weeks, from August 28 to September 8.
Franceinfo: What was the starting point for this documentary?
Thierry Demaizière: We were the ones who proposed it to France Télévisions. We found that it was consistent with our work as portraitists, working on the body. We knew that with the Paralympics, we would have both incredible stories and unheard-of things to film.
Alban Teurlai: We had at heart to attract spectators to these athletes and their exploits. When you look at these athletes, in light of their history, you feel that their performances come from very far away. We wanted this film to be a showcase for these exceptional athletes, because often, the view of disability is very raw, very miserable. We wanted it to be beautiful.
Of the six athletes you filmed, which one had the biggest impact on you?
TD: It’s hard to say, as the destinies of these six athletes are incredible. I would say the journey of Oksana Masters, born severely disabled in Ukraine, abandoned by her parents, raped in her orphanage between the ages of 5 and 7 and luckily adopted by an American.
“Zakia Khudadadi’s journey is also very touching since she managed to flee the Taliban and Afghanistan, where she was doomed to certain death.”
Thierry Demaizièreto franceinfo
But at the same time, the blind cyclist, Anne-Sophie Centis, who is a physiotherapist in a hospital emergency department is also overwhelming. As is the Brazilian swimmer Gabriel Araujo, who has an incredible zest for life even though he is the most severely disabled, since he has no arms and very short legs, without ankles. All of them, each in their own way, are exceptional.
AT: It is also important to point out that Alexis Hanquinquant is the only accidentally disabled person we have in the film, unlike the others who were born with a disability. For us, able-bodied people, it is easier to project ourselves onto him.
How did you choose the athletes you were going to film?
TD: At first, we thought we would only follow French athletes. Then we said to ourselves that we could not cover the Paralympic Games with only a French selection. So we decided to film three foreign athletes and three French athletes.
AT: The difficulty is that there are a thousand stories to tell about Paralympic sport. We had to have a balance between men and women, a balance between French and foreigners, that all skin colours be represented, and that there be no duplication in the stories or in the sports. It was a table with several entries.
Was it easy to convince them to participate in this project?
TD: Yes, because these are people who are looking for visibility. They suffer from being too often in the shadows. So they are necessarily very honored when a camera is interested in them, it is so rare.
AT: The French triathlete, Alexis Hanquinquant, who is talked about a lot in the documentary, is a six-time world champion, six-time European champion, and a gold medalist in Tokyo. He has broken a lot of records and yet very few people know him. He is starting to gain visibility with our film, but also because he carried the flame at the opening ceremony and will be the flag bearer for the French delegation at the Paralympics, but he still remains very little known.
What message do they carry?
T. D.: They are competitors above all, who want to be considered as athletes and who must be treated as such. This is also the goal of the film. Some of them, although they have a disability, are sometimes better than able-bodied athletes. This is the case of Alexis Hanquinquant, who has already competed against able-bodied athletes and won.
“This is their big demand: that they are not seen as handicapped, but as great athletes.”
Thierry Demaizièreto franceinfo
AT: Moreover, Alexis Hanquinquant tells us that when we see him with his blade in place of his amputated leg, we feel sorry for him. On the other hand, when he runs with able-bodied people and beats them, his competitors believe that it is thanks to his blade that he has an advantage. It’s hard for him to find his place. There was this trend a few years ago when para-athletes started to be more visible at the Rio and London Games, where they were made into superheroes. It pissed them off. They don’t want pity, they don’t want to be made into supermen. They want to be looked at as athletes. Period.
Do these champions manage to make a living from their sport? ?
AT: It’s a bit of the same form of injustice that they encounter in the field of notoriety, even if some sponsors are starting to take a little interest in those who win a lot of medals. And I’m not talking about bonuses, which often have to be divided by ten or a hundred, I think.
“A player who wins in wheelchair tennis at Roland-Garros pockets the same amount as a tennis player who is beaten in the first round of the tournament. The gap is colossal.”
Alban Teurlaito franceinfo
Most athletes are forced to work. Cédric Nankin, captain of the French wheelchair rugby team, works in the communications department of the SNCF. He lives in Château-Thierry (Aisne), which is 1h30 from Paris. He drives three hours, twice a week, to go to his training sessions. He has to manage all the time on his own. For example, he installs his wheelchair in his car by himself, even though his team is one of the three best teams in the world. You really have to want it. The few people around them are mainly volunteers and associations.
T. D.: What is also very telling are the ticket prices for the Paralympic Games, compared to the Olympic Games. The prices are nothing like that. The Paralympics are still “sub-Games” and the athletes suffer from it. If our documentary could make people want to buy tickets to go see them, we have won. It is not possible that they perform in empty stadiums, given the efforts they make to get there.
“There is so much resilience, so much struggle to get to this level of excellence.”
Thierry Demaizièreto franceinfo
Do you think that the way we look at disability will change thanks to these Paralympic Games?
AT: I believe so, yes, and I hope that the film and the Games will contribute to this. Disability and inclusion are not perceived in the same way by people who are 20 and by people who are 60. It’s not really a subject for young people today. I think it’s very generational, the way we look at disability.
However, consideration for the Paralympic Games is still a struggle. This year, the competitions will coincide with the start of the school year. We can fear that the stadiums will be rather empty, since people will be at the office or at school.
TD: Each edition of the Paralympic Games gives more and more visibility to the athletes. And this will be the first time that television channels will do as for the Olympic Games, and broadcast all the events in full. This is a real victory compared to other years.
I think the main problem is how we look at them, and how society looks at them. They do pretty well. Some don’t want prosthetics. They have pretty happy lives, and some of them think that what happened to them at birth ultimately helped them, in a way, and pushed them to surpass themselves.
The documentary Body and souldirected by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai, will be broadcast on August 20 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2 and on the france.tv platform.