“Through The Storm,” the Nike-sponsored short documentary directed by award-winning filmmakers Charles Frank and Fritz Bitsoie – a Diné/Navajo director whose work amplifies Indigenous stories—has been nominated for Outstanding Short Documentary at the coveted Sports Emmy® Awards. The winners will be revealed during the ceremony on May 20, 2025.
Produced by Voyager and Gnarly Bay in collaboration with Nike’s N7 initiative, “Through The Storm” highlights the transformative power of football within the Red Lake Nation (Ojibwe) community in northern Minnesota. The film, which made its national broadcast debut on NFL Network in November 2024, tells the inspiring story of a high school football team struggling to revive its program despite a two-decade-long losing streak. The team’s journey symbolizes hope, unity, and resilience for the people of Red Lake.
“It’s been a career-long dream of mine to be a part of a film worthy of an Emmy® nomination,” shares Charles. “For it to happen with this team of amazing filmmakers and with members of the Red Lake Nation–a community that deserves the recognition more than I can express–is truly profound to me.”
Voyager Co-Founder & Executive Producer Andrew Hutcheson adds, “On top of all that, Voyager turns 10 this September and while we wanted the lead up to that milestone to be memorable, this certainly blows our expectations out of the water! To have made such an impactful film with our brand partner, Nike, makes it all the more special as we’ve been working toward merging the worlds of advertising and independent filmmaking since day one.”
The film has enjoyed a successful festival run, taking home honors at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. It has been featured at premier festivals, including the Camden International Film Festival, Indy Shorts, Blackstar and DOC NYC, and was an official selection at Brand Storytelling, a sanctioned event of the Sundance Film Festival. The film has also been nominated for Ad of the Year at the shots The Americas awards and made the longlist at this year’s 1.4 awards.
