Victoria's Foil
Qualifying for the Paralympics is Far From Her Biggest Challenge
22-year-old wheelchair fencer Victoria “Tori” Isaacson is on a multi-year journey to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics; but time is not on her side. Her greatest opponents: a degenerative disease, mounting debt, crushing self-doubt and an unexpected global pandemic. Will her years of athletic discipline arm her as she battles, alongside her coaches and family, to reshape her future?
Directed by: Brett Forrest and Brian Ryu
Executive Producer: Carlos Sandoval
Photos by Augusto Bizzi
Co-Producer: Cat Schneiderman
Production Associate: Kyra Madden
Additional Camera: Anna Budinger and David Peter Hansen
Drone Footage: Frank Scacciaferro
Composer: Laurentia Editha
Colorist: Adam Asdel
Sound Designer: Evan Joseph
Sound Mix: Splash Studios, NYC
Additional SFX Editor: Barbara Parks
Re-Recording Mixer: Peter Levin
Pulitzer Center Advisor: Linda Winslow
Legal Services: Filmmakers Legal Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Legal Clinic Director: Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin
Legal Interns: Nigel Pura-Bryant and Hannah Rosenson

The Film was Supported By
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
The Patsy Pulitzer Preston Fund
Michael E. Pulitzer, Jr. and Ramelle Pulitzer
Charina Endowment Fund
Jonathan S. and Jeannie B. Lavine
Sipprelle Family Fund
Want to get in touch with us?
Email us at bjf2143@columbia.edu and/or jr3980@columbia.edu