Project
METTLE
METTLE follows the journey of Liana Mutia, a blind judo athlete on a quest to create history at the...
Throughout the month of October 2023, I traversed judo dojos across Manhattan, even participating in a class (for which I was very out of shape). With the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics less than a year away, I was on the search for a judo athlete whose journey I could follow for my documentary. My search was fruitless until I came across Liana Mutia.
Mutia, 25 at the time, was different from other blind and visually impaired (VI) athletes, as noted by some of her coaches. She walked confidently with large strides, as opposed to many blind and VI folks who take more cautious, small steps. Mutia lives alone in a Philadelphia apartment, hours away from her family in North Carolina, and works as a software analyst. In my research and reporting on the experiences of the blind and visually impaired, I knew this was not typical, as most people rely on support from friends or family.
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Having competed in judo as a child, I understood that the sport wasn’t as mainstream as other sports, and its rules were often misunderstood. Further, I knew that there was a strong part of the judo community that was not often reported on: blind and visually impaired athletes. I was excited to learn more about what draws blind and visually impaired athletes to the sport of judo and how the sport impacts their lives.
However, during my first interview with Mutia, I learned that the ideas I had for our documentary about the mechanics and impact of fighting as a judo athlete while blind needed to surrender to the character-driven story that was unfolding in front of me.
Mutia immigrated to the United States from the Philippines when she was two years old. My own grandparents immigrated from Cuba and Puerto Rico. We bonded over the drive instilled in us from being a part of a family of immigrants, and the pressure we feel to elevate ourselves in our careers and personal lives because of our families' sacrifices. Over the course of a year, I saw Mutia step back onto the mat, injury after injury, in her fight to medal at the Paralympics.
What I thought was going to be a documentary exploring blindness and judo turned out to be a character-driven story of the pressure Mutia puts on herself to succeed, while also happening to be blind.
My experience co-directing METTLE taught me an important cornerstone for the rest of my future in documentary filmmaking: to let go of what I think the story will be, and be receptive to the natural and unpredictable way that life tends to unfold.
