By: Kyle Hebel

Robert Gauthier’s documentary “Day for a King” is about Anze Kopitar, a National Hockey League player for the Los Angeles Kings, who brings home the NHL championship trophy, the Stanley Cup, to Slovenia for the first time in history.

The documentary begins with many long-range stills of the beautiful mountains, forests and lakes that reside in Slovenia. The opening shot transitions into the next scene, which features a close-up view of the Stanley Cup as it reflects off the river’s water. This shot was done well because of the perfect angle of the camera that captured the trophy’s reflection on the water. If this scene were shot at a different angle, the sun’s reflection off the water would have blurred out the entire image of the trophy. Therefore proving the importance of a well-positioned camera angle. The next scene is a medium-range shot of Kopitar and his family as he is rowing down the river toward his hometown. The audience can hear the nat sound of water following down a stream throughout these scenes.

The rest of the documentary focuses on the theme of never forgetting where a person comes from as Kopitar is being treated like a king throughout the entire film. The audience witnesses eight stills of Kopitar interacting with the town’s people and showing off the championship trophy as they loudly chant his name. That scene transitions into some B-roll as the audience sees the local children’s hockey team, hundreds of photographers and many of adoring fans rally at Kopitar’s championship parade.

The documentary ends with multiple close-up shots of what appears to be Kopitar’s closest family and friends at a small party in his house. The audience sees a bunch of girls pour and begin to drink beer out of the Stanley Cup trophy. Kopitar joins in on the fun as he pours and serves it to his guests. The final shot is of Kopitar and his wife as he lifts the Stanley Cup up for her to drink. The audience sees this scene from his wife’s prospective as she takes the cup from her husband and begins to chug down the beer. The camera shot slowly moves inside the cup and the scene fades to black. Once she is done drinking, the audience hears Kopitar’s voice as he shouts “fill it up again” and his guest begin to scream with excitement.

This documentary revolves around the idea of the true definition of an icon. In America, people obsess over celebrities for their looks, riches, and careers. In Slovenia, Kopitar is treated like a hero because he is the symbol of hope for his country that deals with the struggles of poverty on a daily basis. He’s an idol because the country of Slovenia sees him as someone who persevered through the hardships of their undeveloped country and became successful. His mere presence inspires his country to succeed and that is what a true icon should do for his or her admirers.

Gauthier’s documentary won second place for the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) award for the best sports multimedia story of the year in 2013.