A new documentary examining Sha’Carri Richardson’s story and journey to Olympic qualification will premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, executive produced by the late Virgil Abloh. Sub Eleven Seconds — likely a reference to her record-breaking 100m sprint speed — is described by the festival as being "a rumination on time, loss and hope," alongside being a poetic imagining of Richardson’s quest for Olympic success.
Richardson’s fame rapidly spread across the globe ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games, as the American was forced out of competition after testing positive for marijuana. Known for her record-breaking speed and bold orange hair, Richardson wanted the world to know she was “that girl.”
Filmed throughout the 2021 United States Track and Field Olympic trials, the short documentary is directed by filmmaker Bafic alongside Abloh in his production role. It follows Richardson from her initial dream of Olympic glory, through to her disqualification and subsequent removal from contention.
“Time is my blessing and my curse,” says the athlete in the trailer. “On the track, I’ve been blessed to run fast. Off the track, time has cheated me. You don’t know when something or someone will be taken from you.”
“We all have our different struggles,” she explained, regarding her disqualification. “But, to put on a face, to have to go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain, like, who are you? Who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with a pain or you’re dealing with a struggle you’ve never experienced before?”
You can watch the trailer for Sub Eleven Seconds below.
— Sha’Carri Richardson (@itsshacarri) January 18, 2022
The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20-30, with the event now fully virtual due to the rise in COVID cases in the United States. The full schedule is available here.
Interested in knowing which other films you should keep an eye out for at Sundance Film Festival 2022? Here is our list of the 11 films everyone is talking about.
