Beyond the Podium started with a single email. FRUCD's project manager, Heather Lin, reached out to the Davis Filmmaking Society with an idea for a season documentary. That email became DFS's first-ever feature-length production, as well as my most ambitious film project to date.

As director, I spent thirteen months following FRUCD's journey building FE12, their Formula SAE electric race car, from early manufacturing to competition. What drew me to the story wasn't just the car, but the collegiate team behind it: the long nights, the setbacks, the quiet camaraderie that doesn't show up on a podium. I wanted the film to show that, capturing the beauty and precision of the manufacturing process alongside the human story of a team pushing toward something they weren't guaranteed to finish. Directing a crew of 25 over more than a year taught me documentary filmmaking is its own discipline entirely, distinct from anything I'd worked on before.