“Wall of Will” Filming Process

By Luca B., Grade 9

Imagine this: A world-famous sports company comes to your school to film a documentary that potentially millions of people might see. That’s what happened at MIS when Sports Illustrated came, and I got to experience it first-hand. Let me tell you about it. 

Sports Illustrated came to MIS on January 24^th with a camera crew of around a dozen people. They were filming a documentary to promote their new “Wall of Will” which they are putting in schools around the world. The concept of the wall is to impower younger female athletes to stay in sports and motivate them to go further. We learned that 80% of female athletes drop out at the age of 14. 

The PE department chose 5 students to represent MIS in the documentary, where they were then asked questions such as, “what do you enjoy about playing sports?”, “which athletes do you look up to?”, and what their first impressions of the wall were. The students did these interviews in an extremely professional setting.  

Sports Illustrated then came into the Girls changing room (where the “Wall of Will” can be seen displayed) with professional lighting, cameras, and supervisors.  They started out by doing a practice run with one of their crew members. They made sure the lighting was right, the camera was angled correctly, and that there wasn’t any unnecessary noise heard in the background. Then we were told that two of them had to leave the room so that they had absolute silence throughout the filming process. The MIS representatives then came in individually to be interviewed one at a time. Each of the students were in there for around five minutes, with some students having to do multiple takes.  

Sports Illustrated practicing camera angles in the changing room, Friday, January 24th, 2025, in Munich, Germany. (photo: Anintika B. /Buchhof Bulletin)

Afterwards, the students were photographed in front of the wall and then we had the chance to interview them afterwards.

Stay tuned for more articles for more articles on the “Wall of Will”.

Read all Our Stories About the Wall of Will

First Impressions of MIS Female Athletes

When the Wall was constructed, it was especially important for us to collect the first impressions of the people who saw it. Especially, the female athletes of MIS, who were chosen by Sports Illustrated magazine to give their account of the Wall.

Rock Climbing Champion Hannah Meul Comes to MIS

“Believe in yourself, believe in your dreams, and believe that you’re strong,” said famed athlete, Hannah Meul, IFSC Silver medal champion.
Meul specializes in the sport of rock climbing, and has recently won a silver medal, and narrowly missed the chance of competing in the 2020 Olympics. A small group of 9th grade journalists interviewed Meul to delve deeper into her life as a professional female athlete. 

Erfolge, Herausforderungen und Rituale einer Profifußballerin

Giulia Gwinn, Abwehrspielerin des FC Bayern, betont die Bedeutung harter Arbeit, Sichtbarkeit und Anerkennung im männerdominierten Sport sowie ihre täglichen Trainings- und Regenerationsroutinen.
„Ich habe mit Jungs angefangen und war immer das einzige Mädchen und das war auch nie mal ganz leicht, weil natürlich viele Sprüche kommen“, sagte Gwinn.

Katharina Isele Shares her Journey and Challenges as a Female Athlete.

“Lifting weights is not only being strong in the gym, but it’s also the feeling that I’m capable of everything,” said famed athlete, Katharina Isele. 

Isele emphasized the mental and physical empowerment from weightlifting, the need for more female role models, and her rigorous daily training routine. Her pre-competition rituals and goal to reclaim her title in 2025 highlight her dedication and resilience.

Our Instagram with the Wall of Will articles and more @buchhofbulletin