Lines of Determination | The David Wagner Story, 25min., USA
Directed by Alex de Montbel
David Wagner grew up as a natural athlete, always in motion, playing basketball, surfing, and chasing a dream of becoming a professional player. At 21, a day of surfing in Redondo Beach changed everything when a wave drove his head into the ocean floor, breaking his neck at the C5–C6 level and leaving him paralyzed. In the hospital, as doctors spoke of “permanent” chairs and “permanent” changes, David confronted the loss of his old life with the support of a fiercely loving family that refused to let him give up.

https://www.instagram.com/youreverydayheroes/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I was motivated to make Lines of Determination because as a friend of David Wagner, and a tennis player myself, I knew the importance of shedding light on his story and the sport of wheelchair tennis. It’s a sport that often gets overlooked, as many adaptive sports do; and I wanted to make something that would either inspire athletes looking to get into wheelchair tennis, or give more awareness to the wheelchair tennis community. Working with Your Everyday Heroes gave me the resources and foundation to tell David’s story.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

It took about 9 months from initial idea to finished product on this film.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Relentless resilience.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The biggest obstacle I faced making this film was figuring out logistics to capture David at a tournament. While I knew I wanted to include photos from his past, I also wanted to feature as much footage of him playing currently. In 2025 while I was making the film, he was set to play the US Open in New York, which would be logistically easy for me to get to being on the East Coast. However, we ran into setbacks trying to obtain media rights for any footage I could get, so we opted to not include the US Open in our film schedule. Instead, this meant flying out to San Diego to get David on his home courts, and follow him to a tournament at Indian Wells in Palm Springs, California. The resulting footage did not disappoint!

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Watching the audience feedback made me feel grateful to those who took the time to really embrace the film and it’s purpose. Everything felt really personal and I appreciated hearing such positive feedback!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I’ve always been someone who liked to tell stories and I’ve always loved being creative; from problem solving to filmmaking. This career path of mine has let me enjoy telling stories and be creative at the same. I’m also always finding ways to make the prettiest images through the camera, and filmmaking let’s me do that too!

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

The film I’ve seen the most throughout my life would probably be Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

No real requests here, just keep making filmmakers feel welcome, sharing our work with audiences, and we love our networking opportunities!

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Excellent

10. What is your favorite meal?

As an athlete and tennis player I should probably say something healthy like chicken and vegetables (which I actually do enjoy), but my favorite meal is always thin crust pizza. Preferably made at home from scratch.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

There will definitely be a new film from me in the near future. As of now, I am still working on getting ideas together, but in the mean time I will continue to work in my main field of work as a cinematographer/editor for TV commercials and social media advertising.