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Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD

Olympic champion, Kiwi icon, Tongan leader, mother, daughter, sister, survivor - Winning was just part of the journey. Olympic champion, Kiwi icon, Tongan leader, mother, daughter, sister, survivor - Winning was just part of the journey. Olympic champion, Kiwi icon, Tongan leader, mother, daughter, sister, survivor - Winning was just part of the journey.

• Briar March
• Valerie Adams
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• October 12, 2022 (New Zealand)
• New Zealand
• Dame Valerie Adams: More Then Gold
• 瓦莱丽·亚当斯：金牌之上
• New Zealand (location)
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• NZ$1,900,000 (estimated)

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• Runtime 1 hour 30 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Pop Culture October 20, 2022

Review: valerie adams’ more than gold is more than a sports film.

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The intimate new documentary about the four-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist is a lament on the isolation of greatness, writes James Nokise.

This review was first published on Flicks .

When Dame Valerie Adams won her first shot put competition at high school, she didn’t have any sports shoes to wear. Watching the joy with which she recounts her teacher taking her to buy a pair of size 13 men’s shoes – the only ones big enough to fit her – is one of the many memorable moments from Transition Films’ new documentary Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold.

The film takes us through her entire life, from early childhood up to retirement, showing the journey from an awkward, tall, shy girl in Mangere to the most dominant shot-putter of the modern era.

Director Briar March (A Place to Call Home, Mothers of the Revolution) and editor Margot Francis (Yellow is Forbidden, Savage Honeymoon) use archival footage, interviews, and animation to weave together a story of mothers, family, endurance, and sacrifice.

Ostensibly the film follows Adams as she prepares to compete at her fifth and final Olympics games in Tokyo 2021. The access that Adams and her family have given is strikingly intimate. More Than Gold is a record of a woman who may just be New Zealand’s greatest athlete, but also something of a collaboration between director and subject to lament on the isolation of greatness.

“No All Black ever gets criticised for going on tour and leaving his kids behind,” Dame Valerie says in response to comments on an article announcing her impending trip to Tokyo. The choice to spend so much focus on her family becomes clearer as we see how her complicated childhood and her adult relationships feed her motivation to not just compete but evolve and succeed.

No film of a Tongan legend would be complete without a “Ma’ate Ma Tonga” (Die for Tonga!) moment of bravery, but in a lovely twist, it comes from her small, redheaded fellow high school outcast and best friend, Erica.

Aril Liberman’s cross-cultural score does a fantastic job of shifting gears from intimate moments into Rocky-worthy physical outbursts. The way in which the scene where Valerie holds her mother, Lilika, in her last moments as she dies in hospital transitions to her Olympic training may be, if this isn’t too cynical, one of the best emotional beats in any film this year.

Another thing that stayed with me is the gasps of awe from a group of young Pacific men in the audience when Adams hit the weight room. In what could be viewed as a Kiwi slang version of a five-star review, one of the men simply let out a long, low, “Brooooo”. It was an entirely accurate response. The power on display in those intense sessions is incredible.

For all of Dame Valerie’s playful public persona, it can be easy to forget the effort a world-class athlete has to put in to achieve their goals. The physio sessions and counselling from her coach to tone down her grinding routine only emphasises the many injuries. Her will may be indomitable, but this is a body of a veteran competitor who has competed in international competition for over 20 years.

“I’ve got the spine of a 65-year-old,” Dame Valerie quips while talking about the wear and tear from her career.

And there is no sugar coating the illness and injuries. The straight-talking that has endeared her to fans all over the world is on full display as she frankly recounts the tribulations of her and her family. To go into details about them here, without the context of the film, would be to do her openness a disservice. Though sometimes heartbreaking, they only serve the incredible endurance her and her family have.

“This is greatness. This is what it takes,” says her husband, Gabriel.

In the history of modern track and field, only ten athletes have won championships at youth, junior and senior levels. Usain Bolt is one. Dame Valerie Adams is another.

More Than Gold certainly is not a film that glorifies being an elite athlete. If anything it simply, and sincerely, shows the human cost such a career requires. For our sports-mad nation, it should be required viewing.

Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD

Valerie Adams (Self)

Briar March

Olympic champion, Kiwi icon, Tongan leader, mother, daughter, sister, survivor - Winning was just part of the journey.

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Dame Valerie Adams: intimate film reveals our champion at her most vulnerable

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Valerie Adams, still from More Than Gold Photo: More Than Gold, directed by Blair March

It’s a clich é  to describe a life portrayed in film as a rollercoaster. Yet, while we know the highest highs of Dame Valerie Adams' career - five-time Olympian, two-time gold medallist, easily one of our most successful athletes - a documentary following her final Olympic campaign is unflinching and intimate in also revealing the very human lows.

Directed by Briar March, More than Gold is a remarkably intimate portrait of an inspirational sportsperson as a mother, daughter, sister and friend.  

It’s currently screening in cinemas nationwide.

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Dame Valerie Adams on her new film 'More Than Gold' and why she hid from the public eye before the Tokyo Olympics

Michael Burgess

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Dame Valerie Adams says she was completely transparent in her new documentary film 'More Than Gold'. Photo / Supplied

If you thought you knew Dame Valerie Adams, think again.

That's the overwhelming sentiment after watching 'More Than Gold', the new film that traces the remarkable life of the four-time Olympic medallist and eight-time world champion, while also tracking her unlikely journey to the Tokyo Games.

Adams has spent two decades in the spotlight, since she broke through as a teenage shot put sensation.

Her story has been told countless times, but never quite like this.

It's confronting, captivating and compelling, as Adams doesn't hold back in baring her soul, even willing to discuss some intensely private matters that other documentary subjects might avoid.

"When I took on this project, I wanted to make sure that my story was told in its fullness authentically," Adams tells the Herald. "I was transparent about everything."

Adams has generally been an "open book, publicly" throughout her career, but the shutters had to go up during the last few years, as she battled to get to one last Olympic Games against considerable odds.

"At the time, from an emotional point of view and mental health and wellbeing, it was something that needed to be a bit more protected," explains Adams. "But now is the right time to share that."

The most challenging scenes come in the few days after the birth of her second child Kepaleli in March 2019.

She has previously broadly discussed the difficulties of that time, but the film reveals the dark reality and Adams at her most vulnerable, after complications relating to the Caesarean section required further operations.

"But if there was one pain in my whole entire life, that was the worst - that was it," said Adams. "That took me to the cliff's edge of not wanting to be here, that pain. I've been through a lot and my pain threshold is pretty extensive, very high … but that right there. I was tapped out. I was done."

The film reveals some harrowing conversations with Adams and her husband Gabriel Price, who admits he had feared the worst.

"It was awful for him," admits Adams.

But within the darkness, there was also light, as she plots a path to Tokyo from her hospital bed.

"I can believe it [now] because I know me," said Adams. "Other people not so much. It was a nightmare and all you see is black, black, black, but there was a little glimmer or something there that made me think 'okay, let's get a calendar out and see what it's going to look like'. I'm laying there, split down the middle, tubes everywhere, but it was part of the process of healing. And I wanted this so badly."

Making the film took Adams out of her comfort zone, especially with cameras at usually private settings, from training sessions to doctor's visits to teary family farewells.

She is thrilled with the finished product, but admits it was an exhausting, emotional process, especially reliving events like the passing of her mother, when a 15-year-old Adams ended up being her carer at a South Auckland hospice.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, when your mom dies, or your parent dies," says Adams. "It's still hard, very difficult and to be able to share that experience it obviously still has an impact on me. She's still at the forefront of my mind."

Adams, 38, has dealt with so many different challenges throughout her life but is philosophical.

"I believe people get handed what they're able to handle," says Adams. "That's my attitude towards things that come my way. You find a way to get through it."

While there are painful and despairing moments, ultimately 'More Than Gold' is about triumph, especially with her unlikely deeds in Tokyo, after the most trying build-up imaginable.

It's about achievement against the odds, as well as an athletic dominance that was probably never completely appreciated.

As one expert says, "anyone who goes undefeated for over 100 events is superhuman". That comment comes to mind, watching Adams in the gym, shifting impossible weights, then being asked to do more.

"That's a small glimpse of what you've got to go through to throw your bloody shot put as far as possible," laughs Adams.

Viewers will gain a new respect for the artistry of the sport – especially with one particular scene that took 10 hours to film - and be surprised when Adams reveals the number of perfect throws she managed across her long career (hint: it's not many).

But away from the athletic pursuits, it's also a portrait of a truly unique individual. Funny, frank, fearless, sometimes fiery, but always authentic, always herself.

Director Briar March was given wonderful access, from sitting in on tense coach-athlete meetings to being at home with Adams and her extended family (the exact number of siblings is still disputed). It's woven together skilfully, with Adams' life story told in parallel with her recent Olympic quest.

March shot over 100 hours of footage, interviewing a wide range of people, from her childhood best friend – who helped her stand up to school bullies - to the former teacher who bought her some flash Nike shoes after watching Adams compete barefoot at her first inter-school competition.

Adams watched the film for the first time at the premiere and shed a few tears.

"I found it very overwhelming," says Adams. "All of a sudden you've got your whole life laid out for your eyes in 90 minutes - for everybody to watch. But I'm really happy that I committed [and] I gave it the time and energy that it deserved. And now we have been given a wonderful documentary to enjoy because of that."

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Dame Valerie Adams - More Than Gold

Film (trailer) – 2022.

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Sporting icon Dame Valerie Adam's decision to shoot for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games meant hard choices. This feature documentary follows the 36-year-old shot putter as she trains for her fifth Olympics, trying to balance being a mum to young children, her ambitions, her health and her determination to give back to her Pasifika community. In this trailer Adams talks about growing up poor but loved in her large Tongan family, the pain of leaving her babies behind to train overseas, and the psychological impact of being six foot four while still at primary school. Briar March also directed award-winner   There Once Was An Island . 

This is greatness; this is what it takes. – Dame Valerie Adams' husband Gabriel Price on his wife's sporting glory

Key Cast & Crew

Leanne Pooley

Sound Design

Mark Lapwood

Cinematographer

Ari Liberman

Margot Francis

Briar March

Director, Writer

Produced by

Eight Productions

Acknowledgements

Made in association with the  NZ Film Commission , with assistance from the Government’s Screen Production Recovery Fund. Supported by  Toybox , Images & Sound , Visa , SKY , AIA Vitality and Toyota NZ

• bereavement

Documentary

More Information

Interview with Valerie Adams and the makers of this film, Stuff, September 2022

Announcement of this film, Stuff, September 2021

Press release on More ThanGold, NZ Film Commission website

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Athletics: Dame Val Adams returns to old school for launch of 'More Than Gold' movie

Dame Valerie Adams. Credits: Image - Photosport, video - Newshub

Sporting icon and now big screen film star, five-time Olympian Dame Valerie Adams is back on the podium, this time in a documentary about her life.

Her worldbeating career kicked off at her Mangere East School, where her very first throwing shoe is now a much sought-after sports trophy.  

"Cinderella's slipper," she laughs. "Not quite.

"Don't know why I'm holding it like a baby... it feels that way. May I say my feet haven't grown at all - they are pretty much the same size."

At size 14, they're big shoes to fill and an inspiration to kids everywhere. This proud Tongan/Kiwi is one of the world’s most-celebrated athletes and now, as we've never seen her, starring in a film of her life called More Than Gold .

The filmmakers follow Dame Val as she trains for her final Olympics. She's 36, with two children and two major surgeries - her journey is one of phenomenal courageous strength and drive, and above all, sacrifice.

Telling her story was perhaps one of her biggest challenges yet.

At 1.90m (6ft 3in) and 12 years of age, growing up and standing out, school was NOT easy.

"It wasnt easy going to school," Adams tells Newshub. "I did NOT like it that much.

"Sporting memories are always fun, but anything else outside of that wasn't so great. I didn't like the classroom, it just wasnt my strongest point.

"I'm sorry to all my teachers that I was absolutely such a little shit in your class - I hated maths." 

She wasn't alone, bestie Erica hated maths too, but the one thing they both loved - and still do - was each other.

"We walked like this, always our heads down, so shy," she said. "I was teased because I was white.

"I got called Casper and Ginger, and you were Sky Tower."

"Giant," recalls Adams. 

More from Newshub

On Wednesday, under the real Sky Tower at Skycity, Dame Valerie Adams left the sports field for the red carpet and the world premiere of her film.

More than Gold opens across the country next week.

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Transmission Films and Eight Productions in association with Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) have today released the trailer for feature documentary Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD about Olympic champion, Kiwi icon and Tongan leader, Dame Valerie Adams - which will have its nationwide cinema release on October 20, 2022.

Directed by Briar March and produced by Leanne Pooley, Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD is the candid and inspirational story of Dame Valerie Adams; one of the world’s most celebrated athletes. It is a story of a mother, a daughter, a sister and a survivor. At a time when sportswomen globally are struggling with pressures beyond the field of play Dame Valerie Adams is a beacon of hope.

“I want people to laugh, I want people to cry, I want people to be with me in the serious moments but then I want people to celebrate. I’ve told my story, my own way,” states Dame Valerie.

Competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games required all the shot-putter’s determination and courage. At 36, following two major surgeries and the birth of her children, she was considered an ‘older’ athlete. Struggling to balance her role as a mum with her job as an elite sportsperson, Dame Valerie was forced to navigate emotions every mother will identify with. Woven around observational scenes of Dame Valerie’s journey to Tokyo, is her astonishing backstory.

Over the course of 25 years, Dame Valerie has conquered adversity time and time again. Many New Zealanders believe they know Dame Valerie Adams, but in Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD , Dame Valerie shares her story with honesty and vulnerability exposing her in a way few high-profile people dare. The feature is destined to resonate with ordinary New Zealanders in an extraordinarily human way. For those who have faced hardship, lost someone they loved, or held onto a dream, this film will deliver. It is both funny and gut-wrenching as Dame Valerie shows us what it means to be a world-class competitor and a person for whom winning means more than gold.

Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD director Briar March states, "There is so much more to Dame Valerie's story than you would expect. She has overcome significant challenges to achieve her dreams. Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD is a film about what matters most and looks at the strength it takes to look beyond our limitations and circumstances and reach our fullest potential. Dame Valerie is a role model, and I am genuinely excited by the positive impact her story will have on audiences everywhere." March’s credits include, Mothers of the Revolution (2021), A Place to Call Home (2016), There Once Was an Island (2010), and Allie Eagle and Me (2004). Her work has premiered at major international festivals including Sundance, SXSW, IDFA, and the BFI London Film Festival and has received numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at Oceanian International Documentary Film Festival (FIFO).

Transmission Films will distribute Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD theatrically in New Zealand and Australia. Joint Managing Directors of Transmission Films, Richard Payten and Andrew Mackie state, "This is an intimate and moving tribute to an inspirational woman and we couldn’t be more honoured to be releasing Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD in cinemas across New Zealand. We can't wait for audiences to experience the full emotion of this feature on the big screen."

Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD producer Leanne Pooley states, “I’m very proud to have made an honest film about a kiwi icon that goes way beyond the ordinary ‘sports’ documentary. Dame Valerie opened herself up, sharing a story of resilience and tenacity that is almost incomprehensible. If it was fiction no one would believe it.” Leanne Pooley has been a filmmaker for over 25 years, has directed films all over the world and has won numerous awards, including Best Documentary at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Leanne was named an “Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit” for Services to Documentary Filmmaking in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List and she is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The Oscars).

Katie Millington, Executive Producer, Eight Productions states, “We are honoured to have worked together with such a talented bunch of female storytellers to bring to life a story that every New Zealander should see. This film will remind audiences of the Kiwi dream - to be able to provide every new generation with better lives than the lives we’ve had. The mighty Dame Valerie Adams’ story will richly reward audiences long after the curtain comes down.”

Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD is an Eight Production in Association with the New Zealand Film Commission, and with assistance from the Government’s Screen Production Recovery Fund. Proudly supported by Toybox, Images & Sound, Visa, SKY, AIA Vitality and Toyota NZ.

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Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

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Trailer for Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

The true journey of four-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist, Dame Valerie Adams - one of New Zealand’s most successful and celebrated athletes - as she embarks on her fifth and final Olympic campaign.

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Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

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Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold at Lumiere Cinemas

Dame valerie adams: more than gold.

93 mins | Rated M (Offensive language)

Directed by Briar March

93 mins | Rated M (Offensive language) | Documentary

This 90’ feature documentary is the candid and inspirational story of fivetime Olympian, double Olympic gold medallist, Tongan/New Zealander Dame Valerie Adams; one of the world’s most celebrated athletes. It is also the story of a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a survivor. At a time when sportswomen globally are struggling with pressures beyond the field of play Dame Valerie Adams is a beacon of hope. Competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games required all the shotputter’s determination and courage. At 36, following two major surgeries and the birth of her children, she was considered an ‘older’ athlete. Struggling to balance her role as a mum with her job as an elite sportsperson, Valerie was forced to navigate emotions every mother will identify with. Woven around observational scenes of Dame Valerie’s journey to Tokyo, is her astonishing backstory . Over the course of 25 years Valerie has conquered adversity time and time again. Six foot three at 12-years-old she was bullied at school. She competed barefoot at her first shotput competition because she couldn’t afford shoes. At just 15 she nursed her dying mother while watching the Sydney 2000 Olympics on TV…the moment that inspired her Olympic dream. Many New Zealanders believe they know Dame Valerie Adams, but in a ‘sports’ documentary like no other she shares her story with honesty and vulnerabilityexposing herself in a way few sportspeople dare. More Than Gold speaks to anyone who has faced hardship, lost someone they loved, or held onto a dream. It is both funny and gut-wrenching as Dame Valerie shows us what it means to be a worldclass competitor and a person for whom winning means more than gold.

Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold at Academy Gold Cinema Christchurch | Movies Theatre Chch Today

Dame valerie adams: more than gold.

93 mins | Rated M (Offensive language)

Directed by Briar March

93 mins | Rated M (Offensive language) | Documentary

The Final Throw - The Dame Valerie Adams Story is the extraordinary inspirational journey of four-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist, Dame Valerie Adams - one of New Zealand’s most successful and celebrated athletes - as she embarks on her fifth and final Olympic campaign.

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William A. Anders, 90, Dies; Flew on First Manned Orbit of the Moon

During the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, his color photograph of an emerging Earth, known as “Earthrise,” became an icon and driving force for the environmental movement.

By Richard Goldstein

Maj. Gen. William A. Anders, who flew on the first manned space mission to orbit the moon, the Apollo 8 “Genesis flight” of Christmas Eve 1968, and took the color photograph “Earthrise,” which is credited with inspiring the modern environmental movement, died on Friday morning when a small plane he was piloting alone dived into the water northwest of Seattle. He was 90.

His son Greg confirmed his death.

The crash of General Anders’s Beechcraft T-34 Mentor, which happened at about 11:40 a.m., is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. A search crew recovered a body from the area of the crash, near Jones Island, on Friday evening, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Coast Guard.

In 1968, General Anders, who was a major at the time — along with Col. Frank Borman , who like him was in the Air Force, and Capt. James A. Lovell Jr. of the Navy — was part of the first group of spacemen to leave the bounds of Earth’s orbit. During their mission, they took photos and motion pictures of the lunar surface in preparation for the Apollo 11 flight, when men first stepped on the moon, and they were the first astronauts sent aloft by a giant Saturn V rocket.

Beyond those tremendous milestones, their mission was viewed as briefly reviving the spirits of an America stunned by rising casualties in the Vietnam War, the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and tumultuous antiwar protests and racial disturbances.

On Christmas Eve, during their 10 orbits of the moon, the three astronauts, whose movements were telecast to millions around the world, took photos of Earth as it rose over the lunar horizon, appearing as a blue marble amid the blackness of the heavens. But only Major Anders, who oversaw their spacecraft’s electronic and communications systems, shot color film.

His photo shook the world. Known as “Earthrise,” it was reproduced in a 1969 postage stamp bearing the words “In the beginning God …” It was an inspiration for the first Earth Day, in 1970, and appeared on the cover of Life magazine’s 2003 book “100 Photographs That Changed the World.”

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