Road to Rio Olympics
Corporate Documentary I 2016
Road to Rio was a long-term documentary project following Swedish golf’s return to the Olympic Games ahead of Rio 2016. Over five years, filmmaker Mattias Brannholm documented the journey with a particular focus on Swedish stars Henrik Stenson and Anna Nordqvist.
Mission: inform about the process in an interesting way.
DIRECTORS NOTE
When golf returned to the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, it marked the end of a 112-year absence from the world’s biggest sporting stage. I felt there was a larger story to tell than simply results and rankings. This was about athletes carrying the weight of history, ambition and national expectation into something entirely new.
Over five years, I followed Swedish golf’s road to Rio with a documentary approach built on patience, access and trust. Rather than creating traditional sports coverage, the ambition was to capture the human side of elite performance — the quiet moments between tournaments, the uncertainty, the preparation and the emotional pressure behind representing your country at the Olympics.
With Henrik Stenson and Anna Nordqvist at the center of the story, Road to Rio became a portrait of dedication and professionalism during a unique moment in golf history: the return of golf to the Olympic scene.
DIRECTORS NOTE
When golf returned to the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, it marked the end of a 112-year absence from the world’s biggest sporting stage. I felt there was a larger story to tell than simply results and rankings. This was about athletes carrying the weight of history, ambition and national expectation into something entirely new.
Over five years, I followed Swedish golf’s road to Rio with a documentary approach built on patience, access and trust. Rather than creating traditional sports coverage, the ambition was to capture the human side of elite performance — the quiet moments between tournaments, the uncertainty, the preparation and the emotional pressure behind representing your country at the Olympics.
With Henrik Stenson and Anna Nordqvist at the center of the story, Road to Rio became a portrait of dedication and professionalism during a unique moment in golf history: the return of golf to the Olympic scene.
DIRECTOR
Mattias Brannholm
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mattias Brannholm
Tony Johansson
EDITING
Anders Bewarp
COLOR
Mattias Brannholm