Every kid has a dream of what they want to become when they grow up. The problem is that life often gets in the way of realizing that dream. Obstacles are something that blocks everybody’s dreams, often causing the person to just give up when things get too hard.
Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story is a movie for all the dreamers out there. It is a classic story of how hard work and perseverance do pay off and that there is something to never giving up.
The movie chronicles the journey of an American athlete as he goes from high school soccer to the world’s biggest stage as a professional. Not only does DeMerit captain Watford in the English Premiership, but he is also called upon by the U.S. National Team for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
This is an unlikely journey for someone who didn’t even know if they would play soccer in college, someone who was successful at other things than soccer. It all starts in Green Bay, Wisconsin and takes the viewer through years of hardship where the normal person would just give up and go home. But Jay never did and worked his way from the lowest levels of English football to the Premiership and into the U.S. National Team picture.
The documentary has your typical Horatio Alger,”rags to riches” storyline that is powerful and inspiring. Perhaps the best aspect of the film is that Jay’s own friends helped make it a reality. Their close relationship with DeMerit comes through loud and clear, providing an intimate portrait of Jay’s journey. Rise and Shine is a must-see film for anyone that has ever dreamed of something bigger and better and still has that dream burning in their heart.
Go see the movie in a film in a theater near you, starting today.
Listen to our interview with Nick Lewis, one of the great minds behind the film.
