Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is a feature-length documentary set in the strained and turbulent atmosphere of a racially divided 1930s America, torn between boycotting Hitler's Olympics or participating in the Third Reich's grandest affair. The film follows 16 men and 2 women through their heroic turn at the Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, 1936. the atheletes represented a country that considered them second-class citizens and competed in a country thta rolled out the red carpet in spite of an undercurrent of Aryan superiority and Anti-Semitism. 18 athletes carried the weight of a race on their shoulders and stood tall in the middle of a political firestorm. They made the team, travelled to Berlin and did the unexpected with grace and dignity. Their presence on the world stage is a seminal precursor to the Civil Rights Movement. History forgot all except one. This is the story of the other 17.
Deborah Riley Draper is an award-winning and critically-acclaimed filmmaker and advertising agency veteran. Variety Magazine named Riley Draper to their “2016 Top 10 Documakers to Watch“ list. Her latest film "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" is nominated for the 2017 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Documentary - Film and is eligible for Best Original Song for the 2017 Oscars. Her groundbreaking fashion documentary "Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution" was seen at film festivals and fashion weeks around the world and has been optioned by Director Tate Taylor ("The Help" and "Girl on the Train") for a feature film. "Versailles '73" enjoyed a successful broadcast debut on LogoTV in 2015. Riley Draper’s leadership in advertising can be seen in campaigns and projects for Lamborghini, Coca-Cola classic, ExxonMobil, HP, AT&T, FedEx, and The Georgia Lottery Corporation. She has earned two regional Emmys, a Gold Effie and several Addy Awards. Draper's 12+ years of agency account management and strategy experience includes roles at Ogilvy Atlanta, BBDO, Publicis and Tracy-Locke. She is a Johnson & Wales University Distinguished Visiting Professor and Indiana University Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecturer. The diehard FSU Seminole resides in Atlanta.
