06/29/2012       

Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang and Erica Wu form the United States Women’s Team which will compete in the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.

Alongside Michael Landers, they are the subject of a documentary being produced in San Francisco by Mina T. Son and Sara Newens.

In order for the documentary to be completed they have both targets and deadlines to meet.

They need to raise US$75,000 by Thursday 19th July and before that they have set a target of US$10,000 by Sunday 1st July.

To support the project visit: Topspin a Ping Pong Documentary

Two Years Five Countries

Mina T. Son explains

TOP SPIN, a Table Tennis Documentary Needs Fans' Support

Two years, five countries and 150 hours of footage later, we are officially table tennis converts. Back in 2010 when we began to document then 14-year-old American Ariel Hsing’s rise from Bay Area ping pong champ to legitimate Olympics contender, we had no idea that we would grow to love and champion the sport as we do now.

Our feature documentary TOP SPIN takes an intimate look inside the competitive world of elite table tennis athletes through the lives of Ariel and two other American teenaged talents Lily Zhang and Michael Landers.

We’ve captured how these teens juggle grueling training schedules along with the aches and pains of young adulthood. We’ve witnessed the tension that rises when families have sacrificed and invested so much on the Olympic Dream.

Now we need help to bring these stories to a wider audience.

Thanks to the devoted table tennis fans who supported us last year, we have made it this far on our journey with Ariel, Lily and Michael. Now at this critical point, we need the support of the table tennis community more than ever as we embark on the final phase of post-production.

We have until July 19 on Kickstarter to raise $75K - money that is crucial if we want to finish TOP SPIN.

Take a look at our trailer and project page. We are eager to hear what table tennis fans think - as all of you are the film's core audience!

Please donate (every bit counts towards our goal) and share our project with your friends and communities, plus post, tweet, and blog about us!

With the all-or-nothing model of Kickstarter, if we don't reach our goal, we get nothing.

With the help of table tennis’ biggest fans, we can bring the story of these inspirational athletes to the big screen, and show the masses what the sport is really all about!

A extract from footage which shows Michael Landers in action
Photo courtesy of Mina T Son