ROCKLAND — The Rockland Public Library will screen the 2013 documentary My Way to Olympia (Niko von Glasow, director/writer/co-producer) on Thursday, July 21 at 6 p.m. This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS' award-winning nonfiction film series.

Who better to cover the Paralympics, the international sporting event for athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities, than Niko von Glasow, the world's best-known disabled filmmaker? Unfortunately - or fortunately for anyone seeking an insightful and funny documentary - this filmmaker frankly hates sports and thinks the games are "a stupid idea." Born with severely shortened arms, von Glasow serves as an endearing guide to London's Paralympics competition in My Way to Olympia. As he meets a one-handed Norwegian table tennis player, the Rwandan sitting volleyball team, an American archer without arms and a Greek paraplegic boccia player, his own stereotypes about disability and sports get delightfully punctured.

My Way to Olympia is a fresh and fascinating take on the often-sobering subject of disability. It's also a fresh and fascinating take on humanity's common and persistent trait — the will to win.

"So many people, myself included, live in denial of their weaknesses," said Niko. "These athletes are confronting their disabilities head-on, striving to conquer them. A man with no arms doesn't have to take up archery, and his life would be much easier if he hadn't. The more time I spent with these athletes, the more I understood that they aren't just trying to be 'as good as' non-disabled athletes.”

"I found the Paralympics altogether more interesting, fun, human and inclusive than the Olympic Games," he continued. "As my relationships with my subjects became more intimate and, at times, more intrusive, I realized that Paralympians are much purer examples of the original Olympic spirit than many able-bodied Olympians. You can't become a Paralympic athlete without totally embracing the ideals of togetherness and shared participation. Even I, who will certainly never win Paralympic gold, found myself caught up in that spirit, and unable to resist taking part."

My Way to Olympia is an if... Productions film in co-production with Palladio Film GmbH, Senator Film Produktion GmbH, WDR, SWR and NDR.

This year's Thursday Film Series is hosted by the Friends of the Rockland Library. In addition to watching interesting films, viewers will be able to enter a drawing for books related to the movie's topic or theme, donated by the Friend's Book Stop.

This event, sponsored by the Friends of the Rockland Library and the Rockland Public Library, is free and open to the public.