The Long Green Line is an independent American feature length documentary film about the 2005 York Community High School Cross Country team, Elmhurst, Illinois. It is written, directed and co-produced by Matthew Arnold, with co-production and cinematography by Brady Hallongren. The film documents Coach Joe Newton's 50th year coaching, while the team is going for their 25th Illinois (IHSA) state title.[1][2]

Long Green Line
Directed byMatthew Arnold
Written byMatthew Arnold
Produced byBrady Hallongren
Matthew Arnold
StarringCoach Joe Newton
Lord Sebastian Coe
Matt and Eric Dettman
Conor Chadwick
John Fisher
Edited byAlex Saftie
Music byKyle Wittlin
Production
companies
LGL Productions, LLC
Release date
  • August 18, 2008 (2008-08-18)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75,000

There are over 220 boys on the team, and during the film, two of the top seven runners are arrested, expelled from school, and expelled from the team for arson.[1]

The film was released on August 18, 2008, and ran in theaters for six weeks.

Reception

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  • Three stars from Chicago Tribune
  • Three stars - Chicago SunTimes: ""A healthy reminder of how sports can mold young men and women into better people. " 

Awards

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  • Endurance Sports Award - Running Film of the Year
  • Best Documentary - Lake Forest Film Festival[3]
  • Best Documentary - Naperville Film Festival
  • Opening Film - Running Film Festival - U.S. Olympic Trials, Eugene Oregon
  • Voted #10 Best Sports Film of all time - ESPNrise.com

References

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  1. ^ a b Maciaszek, Marty (August 16, 2008). "These filmmakers knew how to draw the 'Line' - Daily Herald". Prev.dailyherald.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  2. ^ "The Long Green Line – High School Cross Country Running Documentary about Coach Joe Newton". Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. ^ reporter, Ted Gregory, Tribune. "Taking an idea, running with it". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved May 6, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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