FARMINGTON—Filmmaker T.C. Christensen brings true stories to life. His upcoming film “Raising the bar: The Alma Richards story” is no different. The movie will have audiences cheering as the farm boy from Parowan, Utah defies all odds to make it into the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden for the high jump. The film opens in theaters April 24.

“It’s a factual summary,” said Christensen. “Alma went to high school and found out about this new sport. He did track for two years and then found himself on the world stage. He surprised all of America with his accomplishments.”

Filmmaker T.C. Christensen on set. Courtesy of Remember Films

 This took over three years to make, he said. “That’s the longest of any (films) and it’s because it’s set in 1912 and the whole third act is the Stockholm Olympics. Well, there’s no stadiums around here for me to film in.”

Utah has a lot of good locations but doesn’t have a 1912 stadium, Christensen said. “That had to be done with lots of visual effects and those are slow. We did go to the Queen Mary in Long Beach and filmed there because that’s how the team traveled, by ship.”

Christensen said they used This is the Place State Park and found a great gymnasium in Spanish Fork and a great old school in Payson. “I had worked on another film and of course I put them in my head and go, ‘boy, remember this place?’ The good one with this was when I realized I needed a stadium. I looked around and there wasn't anything.”

What about a rodeo stadium? That could work, he said. “They have a great rodeo in Spanish Fork. So I went and looked at their stadium and it was just too modern. I got back in my car and headed to the freeway and within a mile I passed a building in Spanish Fork that said gymnasium. I thought ‘what’s that? I’ve never heard of that.’”

Christensen said he pulled off and went in and it was city offices. “They said ‘yeah, it was built almost 100 years ago and we don’t use it. Do you want to use it?’ I said ‘oh boy yes.’ So it’s a lot of poking around trying to find places that’ll work without being too expensive.”

Paul Wutherich plays Alma and also starred in Christensen’s last film “Escape from Germany.” “He’s a find,” said Christensen. “He’s a kid from Davis County. He’s an excellent actor but he doesn’t even go after acting like a full-time thing. He’s got a job, but man I really enjoy working with him.”

This is Christensen’s first sports film. “This film is a little different for me,” he said. “It has faith and family and patriotism but it’s not a really overtly religious kind of film. I enjoyed it because it’s a good story.”

Alma was a natural athlete, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a lot of obstacles, said Christensen. “That’s one of the things that makes a good story, is if you have a strong protagonist that has a lot to overcome and Alma did. I think people will be surprised.”

They see the story and they’ll think “did that really happen?” he said. “Were they that mean to him because this is a white bred boy from America. But you know what was his problem? He was a hick. Especially at that time in America, there was this battle between city and country and they didn’t want to have a kid that came out of the cornfield to step up and be as good as the guys from these big Ivy League schools. But he did and he was.”

Christensen said he was drawn to the story because he’d known it his whole life. “Alma was my grandmother’s brother. That’s not why I made it as a family history piece or something like that, whether he was a relative or not, it’s a good story. That’s why I made it.” 

Alma had worthwhile goals, he said. “When people see someone who’s trying to be a champion and then overcomes all of those troubles and succeeds, it says to each one of us that we have it in us too. We can pull it off.”

For more information visit https://raisingthebarmovie.com/.