LOS ANGELES, California (March 3, 2026) — A short documentary more than a decade in the making is bringing the story of a determined endurance athlete to a global audience. Looking Forward: From Vision Loss to Paralympics, a film by Los Angeles filmmaker Devon Gulati, premiered worldwide March 3 on the YouTube channel of Short Frame.
The film follows paratriathlete Owen Cravens, who refused to let progressive vision loss derail his athletic ambitions. Diagnosed at age 10 with Stargardt disease—a degenerative condition that gradually damages central vision—Cravens chose to continue pursuing sports rather than retreat from them.
“I was okay with it because I am just going to keep doing what I’m doing,” Cravens said in the film at age 11.
Poster image courtesy of Devon Gulati
That decision set him on a path toward elite competition. As his vision declined, Cravens adapted his training and racing, eventually competing in paratriathlon at an international level with his sights set on qualifying for the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
“In order to qualify for Paris, I have to be in the top nine in the world and number one in the country,” Cravens says in the documentary while describing the demands of the qualification process.
Photo courtesy of Devon Gulati
Gulati began filming Cravens while studying at Columbia College Chicago, where the project started as a class assignment. Over time it evolved into a long-term documentary project that chronicles Cravens’ development as both an athlete and a person navigating life with vision loss.
Photo courtesy of Devon Gulati
“Owen set his own limitations, and that alone was inspiring,” Gulati said. “He showed what it means to keep competing when so much is pushing back on you.”
Photo courtesy of Devon Gulati
The documentary recently completed a festival run that included screenings at the Charlotte Film Festival, Key West Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival, Lake County Film Festival, and the Golden State Film Festival.
Supported in part by a grant from the State of Illinois and completed with post-production assistance from Secret Twins Post, Looking Forward offers a close look at resilience, adaptation, and the demanding training required to compete in endurance sport at the highest level.
For Cravens, the journey remains unfinished.
“It taught me I have a lot of room to grow,” he says in the film, “and a lot of movement to make in order to be the best in the U.S. and eventually one of the best in the world.”
Watch the video here:
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