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On March 24, �������� students had the opportunity to watch the movie “” and then talk with producer Debra Martin Chase ’77 and writer and director Sarah Spillane.

“True Spirit” is based on the 2010 memoir of the same name written by Jessica Watson, an Australian sailor who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal after attempting a solo global circumnavigation at the age of 16.

The talkback was lively and engaging. “‘True Spirit,’ in essence, is the story of a young woman who has an enormous dream, and she realizes that she has the power within herself to make that dream come true with hard work, determination, perseverance and courage and also that you can do anything you want to do,” Chase said. “I think that’s why it resonates with audiences of all ages, male and female.”

Spillane agreed. “‘True Spirit’ is about female empowerment and pursuing your dreams at all costs. It also goes a little deeper than that for me. It’s about following your truth, no matter what truth that is, despite the adversities that you may come up against. I think that is incredibly relevant to the students I’ve met at Mount Holyoke so far,” she said.

“Although ‘True Spirit’ is about a girl whose dream is to sail around the world, it’s the journey itself and how it changed her that I think applies to so many different aspects of life,” Spillane continued. “So you can replace the sailing component with whatever passion you have, and I think that is something that anyone can take away from this story.”

“True Spirit” is currently streaming on Netflix.