Olympic-Themed Virtual Screening
A film about an Olympic gold medal winner will make its online premiere just as the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad get underway. MELGES: The Wizard of Zenda will have its first virtual online screening July 30th. The documentary pays tribute to one of the greatest sailors in the history of the sport, sailing legend Buddy Melges.
The virtual screening will be introduced by Executive Producer Anne Peterson along with sailing analyst NBC correspondent Gary Jobson, and Bill Allen, part of the crew that helped Buddy win gold in the 1972 Olympics. Jobson and Allen will take questions via Zoom after the film.
The July 30th virtual screening begins at 6 pm CT/7 pm ET. For more information or to purchase a ticket for $10, visit WizardofZenda.com and click on ‘VIRTUAL SCREEENING-ONLINE. The Olympics-focused event is just the first of a series of virtual screenings the filmmakers will offer between now and the end of the America’s Cup campaign in October.
Screenings to date
The documentary has enjoyed positive reviews from critics and audiences after 80+ screenings at yacht clubs, sailing schools and independent theatres in the U.S., Canada and Europe. But until now, all the screenings have been in person, and many sailors and documentary lovers have been unable to see it.
“We wanted to share the film with the sailing community first, as a way of saying thank you for its support. We hoped it would be used to bring sailors together, promote sailing, and help clubs and schools raise money through fundraising events, said Peterson, and that’s exactly what’s happened. The documentary has helped sailing organizations raise over $60,000. The virtual screenings will help us extend the reach of the film.”
Sailing Magazine review
This film played to a standing ovation at its premiere showing in late March at the Annapolis Film Festival. “This film is so much more than sailing. It’s about the greatest sailor in the history of the sport, but it also contains many nuggets about entrepreneurship, character building and how to harness your ego to play well with others,” said Executive Producer Anne Peterson of “Melges: Wizard of Zenda”.
SAILING MAGAZINE, JUNE 2023
Despite his larger-than-life persona, the film captures Melges’s humble nature, and his eagerness to share his knowledge and be an open book to even his competitors. With more sailing trophies than almost any other American sailor, the 93-year-old was an Olympic gold medalist, world champion in the Star and 5.5-Metre classes, five-time E-scow national champion, seven-time Skeeter iceboat champion, three-time Mallory Cup champion and three-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. He was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011 and the World Sailing Hall of Fame in 2015.
Yacht clubs and sailing organizations are being offered the opportunity to partner with the movie’s production company to show the film to their membership by paying a nominal per-attendee fee. That fee is reduced if the film is used in a fundraiser to promote sailing.
Buddy Melges was all about promoting the sport of sailing,” Peterson said. “By offering the film to yacht clubs to use in their own fund-raising efforts, I like to think we are paying it forward and bringing Buddy’s philosophy up close and personal to an expanded universe of sailors no matter where they are or what they sail.”
Sail Magazine Review
Truly it’s vexing that sailing luminaries don’t get more attention in the U.S.—a nation founded on the very skill of being able to sail successfully and well—and it really hits you front and center watching “The Wizard of Zenda,” Mark Honer’s terrific documentary film about the legendary Buddy Melges. His sailing career has been so remarkable that few superlatives come close to describing it; even sailors like Gary Jobson and Dennis Conner, who raced with and against him over the years and managed to become household names, sometimes seem almost speechless in their own efforts to do so.
Sail Magaine
Quicklier Film Partners is licensing the documentary to yacht clubs, non-profit organizations and small groups for in-person or virtual screenings. To learn more visit WizardofZenda.com or email the filmmakers at Sail@WizardofZenda.com.
Copyright © 2023, Quicklier Film Partners, All rights reserved.
