Ariel Hsing is one of three young Ping-Pong players with Olympic dreams in table-tennis documentary
TOP SPIN (Sara Newens & Mina T. Son, 2014)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, October 23
212-924-3363
www.topspinmovie.com
www.cinemavillage.com
Unless you’re a dedicated fan of table tennis, you’ve never seen Ping-Pong played quite like this. In Top Spin, first-time feature-film documentarians Sara Newens and Mina T. Son follow a trio of young Americans through the tournaments necessary to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team and compete in the London Games. At sixteen, Fremont, California, native Ariel Hsing is the youngest women’s national champion, a two-wing attacker who calls both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet “Uncle.” Seventeen-year-old Mineola, New York–born Michael Landers is a two-wing looper who is the youngest men’s national champion. And Lily Zhang is a fifteen-year-old all-around attacker from Palo Alto and the world #2 in under-fifteen girls, usually finishing right behind Ariel. Director-editor Newens and director-producer Son speak extensively with the three players and their parents, coaches, teachers, trainers, and friends while counting down the days to each event, fierce competitions in which Ariel, Michael, and Lily play against opponents who are sometimes more than twice their age. They dedicate their lives to their Olympic dreams, spending large amounts of time away from school and their friends and family as they attempt to make the low-ranked American Olympic squad that has little chance for a medal, without even a high-paying professional league in their future. Yet they battle on, despite the heavy odds against them. Much of the Ping-Pong action is mind-blowing, particularly a late match in which Michael returns slam after slam with amazing acumen and accuracy. The film is executive-produced by Jonathan Bricklin and Franck Raharinosy, cofounders of SPiN, the Ping-Pong social club on East Twenty-Third St. that is partly owned by Susan Sarandon, who appeared in Michael Tully’s indie film Ping Pong Summer last year. Top Spin opens October 23 at Cinema Village, with Newens and Son participating in a Q&A moderated by crossword-puzzle maven Will Shortz at the 9:15 show Friday night.