On Saturday, Feb. 24, Jade Richard-Craven ’11, a screenwriter and producer, returned to the Poly community for the Back to the Big Screen showing of her 2023 film, “Gridiron Grind,” in partnership with the Black Student Union.

As the first female-identifying student to take to the football field at Poly, Richard-Craven’s fictional film was influenced by her experience as a female football athlete.

“I really enjoyed the movie because it was not only a story you don’t really see everyday, but it was also both engaging and heartfelt at times while still being humorous at others,” said junior Akira Brown, who interviewed Richard-Craven after the film showing. “I found it interesting how Jade merged this story, partially based on her real experience at Poly, with the well-known teen rom-com plot to create a movie that was somehow both original yet familiar.”

From an early age, Richard-Craven’s identity as a Black queer woman made her determined to write and produce films and television shows for a broad range of viewers. A lifer at Poly, she pursued a double major in Visual Media Studies and English at Duke University.

“It’s events like this that we can have people that were students who are continuing to do things in the world to share what they are pursuing and how much their Poly experiences inform what they are doing later on in life,” said Upper School film teacher Adam Feldmeth ‘04.

“To be a Poly student is to have an incredible opportunity and set of experiences that are going to compel you to pursue different things. Having some of those voices come back as we do through the alumni association and through the college counseling program is valuable and allows for connections to be built between current students and former students,” Feldmeth added.