Local Produces Feature Film

A young boy dreams of making the U.S. Olympic team, but his hopes crumble when he is cut from his college squad. Still, he realizes his goal in a very different way.

This is the basis of the film “For the Glory,” produced by Fairfax resident Chris Rogers.

This motion picture highlights Oakton resident Kurt Kuykendall’s rise as a college soccer star after he was cut from the American University (AU) basketball team in 1970. He had never played soccer, but after three months of training, he found his place as starting goalkeeper for AU’s Division I team. Named as an All-American in 1973, he later joined the U.S. Olympic squad in its 1975 quest to qualify for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Kuykendall also played for several teams in the North American Soccer League, including the New York Cosmos with legendary player Pelé.

“The main message is to find out what you were created to do and then do it,” said screenwriter Katherine Craddock.

The film also represents Kuykendall’s reliance on his Christian faith, Rogers said. Kuykendall became a Christian after being cut from his high school basketball team in 1969.

“It’s about God’s love for people,” Kuykendall said. “It’s about God having a plan for people’s lives.”

The character of Al Ross – Kuykendall’s AU teammate who encouraged him to start soccer – also plays a central role in the film. The real-life Al Ross said Kuykendall attributed his personal accomplishments to his trust in Jesus.

“He gave all the credit for his success to Jesus Christ,” said Ross, who lives in Woodbridge.

Production began in September 2009 with Rogers’s company, CDR Communications. The film was featured at the International Christian Visual Media Film Conference in Atlanta last Thursday. Its next showing is at Rave Motion Pictures Fairfax Corner 14 this Wednesday, July 13 – however, it is only open to individuals involved with the movie.

Reception has been positive for this “nice family film,” Rogers said, and he hopes to release it to the public by February 2012. Fairfax Corner 14 will host another screening on July 21 for local church leaders interested in showing the film to their congregations.

Rogers created CDR Communications 27 years ago, and he had “the vision” for a movie but lacked a strong script and the necessary resources, he said. Meanwhile, Katherine Craddock and her husband Chris, who attend the King’s Chapel in Clifton with Kuykendall, began writing a screenplay in 2006, Katherine said.

 “What happened to him was amazing,” she said. “If someone told you they tried out for the local Division I soccer team and they’d never played it in their life you’d just laugh at them. But he actually did it.”

About 600 people helped make the film, Rogers said, and 1Voice Films assisted with the funding. Many actors originated from Northern Virginia, but some came from Ohio and Tennessee, he added. Around 550 extras joined too.

Filming took place in Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland. For instance, the crew shot scenes in front of the Capitol building, at local businesses and at George Mason University facilities, Craddock said.

Besides portraying Kuykendall’s successes, the movie also reveals his “dysfunctional” home life in Bethesda, MD with an alcoholic mother and a career-driven father, Rogers said.

“We wanted to show how he overcame not only overwhelming odds in sports but how he overcame odds at home through his faith,” Katherine Craddock said. “We’re hoping to encourage soccer players to get out there and to dream big.”

Rogers has yet to determine distribution arrangements for the film’s release, he said, but it has gained attention with distribution networks in countries such as Holland and South Africa.

“Soccer’s a world sport, so it provides an interesting platform for people to see two things – how determination can work, and somebody’s life, where they can go from nothing to really succeeding,” Rogers said.

Running time is 106 minutes.  Film is not yet rated. Fairfax Corner 14 Theater will host a showing for Northern Virginia church leaders on Thursday, July 21. Contact info@cdrcommunications.com.