Melanie Metzman

J200 Final Story

Black and white film rolls, young men are shown pushing their bikes around the
track of Bill Armstrong Stadium, the year 1952 at the bottom of the screen. The shot cuts
to another scene, this one in color. Now young women are walking the track with their
bikes preparing for the start of Little 500. However, in this clip, the year 1988 is
displayed.
This is the opening scene of Tom Millers new documentary, One Day in April.
Little 500 to most is a week-long party that happens every April in Bloomington.
Someone once called Little 500 the worlds greatest college weekend, and it stuck.
However, to Miller, a 2012 Indiana University graduate, Little 500 is much more than a
week of partying.
Miller recognizes that Little 500 exists because of two bike races, which he
highlights in his documentary, One Day in April, set to premier on April 24 at the
Buskirk Chumley Theater. The film follows four teams: Delta Gamma, Teter, Delta Tau
Delta and Black Key Bulls as they train for the Little 500 race.
Miller, who previously worked on the Obama 2012 presidential campaign and
directed All Weve Built, a short film about nuclear disaster, which premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival, wanted to create a documentary that could stand with the likes of
Breaking Away and Hoosiers.
However, Miller also saw One Day in April as a chance to promote gender
equality in sports. The mens Little 500 race started in 1952, yet a womens race did not
exist until 1988. The opening shots of the documentary reflect this 36 year time and
equality difference between men and women.

Sports play such an important role in the way we shape our identities both for
men and women. The womens race is not a second rate version of the guys race, Miller
said. Its the same thing in that they go around in circles but the structure of it only being
100 laps, its its own thing, and thats cool.
Kayce Doogs, the team captain of Delta Gamma, goes above and beyond for her
team and fellow riders. She is shown through out One Day in April struggling with a
damaged knee, which following the 2013 race is revealed to have essentially no cartilage.
Yet, Doogs goes on to help her team win the womens 2013 Little 500. Clearly, drive and
dedication does not just belong to men.
Amelia Nelson, a current rider for Alpha Xi Delta, attended a special One Day
in April screening for current Little 500 riders.
The movie made me feel so good about what I do, like Im making a difference
for women just by riding. Im a huge feminist, so its really important to me that people
see the two races as equal, Nelson said. We still have a ways to go, but I think things
like One Day in April help people see that no race is more important or better than the
other.
The film is all about gender equality, down to the ending. One Day in April cuts
in and out between the mens and womens races, and the endings are intertwined. Miller
wanted to create drama by not showing who the winner of either race is immediately,
while also maintaining equality by making one race the highlight of the film.
We did the race intercut because we didnt feel like in good faith we could do an
edit where it was womens race and then the mens race because then you imply that one
is the true climax to the film, Miller said.

One Day in April was envisioned as an insider look at the Little 500 season,
Miller said.
Above all, though, the film is a recognition of the riders, male and female, as well
as of Bloomington itself.
Tori Lawhorn, President of the IU Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society
of America (PRSSA), works closely with Miller to locally promote the film. She believes
the documentary is especially powerful because of the local ties.
A lot of people call Indiana a flyover state, Lawhorn said. This movie shows
hey, were here, and we do important things, and this is one of them.
Cat Huynh, who attended the premiere, believes that One Day in April perfectly
captures what it means to be a Hoosier.
Its a story of the human spirit and how one will push themselves to the limits in
order to win this thing thats just one day in April. Its very raw, I mean you see tears and
blood, Huynh said.
I felt like I could make a film that would really show people whats so amazing
about Little 500, Miler said. This is a race that has no professional companion and no
money to win; folks love it because its all about your team and the community. Its
totally unique and its very Indiana.
Sam Harbison, a member of the 2013 Cutters team featured in the film, was
excited to attend the screening and see the final version of One Day in April. He wants
to share what Little 500 means to him with the world.
As One Day in April closes, shots of riders, both men and women, preparing for
the 2014 Little 500 flash onto the screen. Back Home Again in Indiana, the song sung

before every race, plays. Sam Harbison thinks this is the most powerful scene in the film
because it shows the community around the race and what it means to be a Hoosier.
When youre in that moment, you dont find that ever again, Harbison said.
Thats why people come back.

(960)
---Sam Harbison

Cat Huynh
chuynh@indiana.edu
(219) 448-0256

Tori Lawhorn
vlawhorn@indiana.edu

Tom Miller
tom.miller@gmail.com

Amelia Nelson
nelsonar@umail.iu.edu