Alex Heller first arrived at Sundance as a volunteer nine years ago. Assigned to the Yarrow Theater, she spent her days checking tickets and sitting in the back of the theater. She drowned herself in as many films as possible.
“It was such a joyful time in my life,” she said. “I just thought, ‘I hope I can do this every year.’”
Now, nearly a decade later, Heller has returned to Sundance. But this time, as the writer and director of “Debaters,” a proof-of-concept short film which premiered in the festival’s Shorts Program. The short was inspired by Heller’s own years as a debate judge, a role she took on as a weekend job but which quickly became an obsession.
“I was just so blown away by these incredibly ambitious teenagers,” she said as she talked about the debaters she encountered. “I couldn’t believe how smart they were, how aware of the world they were and the political structure of not just our country but like globally … And then, the session would end, and they’d be totally charming, they’re just teenagers.”
This duality composes the heart of “Debaters,” where we follow a shy first-time debater in an affluent high school debate tournament. He faces the pressure to find his voice while confronting opposing viewpoints in a divided room.
Representation and Authenticity in “Debaters”
Sripadh Puligilla plays the protagonist of the film.
“As I was looking, I saw I was the first one from the Telugu-speaking region,” he said. “So it’s an extra badge of honor, along with being an Indian-American.”
Puligilla’s character begins the film by speaking with his mother in their native tongue. This is a scene that immediately grounds the story in reality.
“I didn’t come from an immigrant family, but a lot of the debaters that I worked with did,” Heller said. “[They] described it as a very high-pressure environment where their parents expected a lot from them, not just in debate … So, I think it’s important, even though it’s a brief part of the short, to showcase a bit of a parental relationship.”
The cast of “Debaters” reflects the diversity of the debate world that Heller and many others have experienced. Heller deliberately chose this cast to capture the authenticity of the environment she knows so well.
Bernadette Santos Schwegel, who plays a fiercely competitive debater, shared a similar sense of connection to the film.
“I found it really hard to find other Filipinos, like in the industry in Chicago, so being part of Debaters gave me a community,” she said. “I reach out to those friends all the time, like even from filming to now, and we support each other and it really is so special.”
“Debate is such a diverse space, and I wanted the film to reflect that,” Heller said. “It’s important for audiences to see characters from all kinds of backgrounds excelling in this intense, competitive environment.”
The Value of Dialogue
“Debaters” is a lovely short. It’s funny and lighthearted at times, but it still incorporates important issues.
“I hope that people take away that it’s worth having a dialogue with people who don’t share your background or your beliefs … We don’t have to agree with each other, but I think listening to other people’s logic and viewpoints is important for bringing communities together,” Heller said. “I think we’re suggesting lightly, an alternative is to just have a dialogue.”
Santos Schwegel said that “seeing one topic being discussed by a bunch of people from different backgrounds, and all of them still retaining that sense of community, was really important.” It is an important commentary to showcase, especially when, as Heller said, “our nation feels really divided right now.”
“Debate is Cool”
As the interview wound down and Heller reflected on the journey that brought her here, she said something that really stuck: “I want people who watch this film to be on an emotional journey that mirrors how I felt as a judge watching it, which was just intense excitement, fear, curiosity, of what’s gonna happen next.” She said she hopes “people walk away from it feeling like debate is cool.”
