Documentary

“I’ll Never Look At Football The Same” – Story Behind CONCUSSED: The American Dream – Ray Roman

Filmcourage

Published

July 4, 2025

[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]

Film Courage: How important is it having NFL players in your film when trying to sell it?

Ray Roman, Filmmakers/Drone Operator/Editor: It’s definitely important. Especially, some of the ones that we have in the film, Brett Favre, Christian Okoye, Jim McMahon, these are all legends of the game. To have them come out and share their story it’s important for the new generation currently playing and even up-and-coming players that maybe it’s their dream to be in the NFL.

For them to share their experience it was really important to have them and we’re grateful to have them in the film.

Film Courage: Did you and your team sit down and think, who is this movie for?

Ray: Yeah, this movie is for a lot of people. It’s for the athlete who wants to play the game. It’s for the parents of the athlete because in this story you hear the parental side of this and how it can affect the immediate family. It’s definitely for the everyday football fan who watches it.

You kind of can’t escape football season when it’s on. It’s on Monday Night Football. It’s on Thursdays. It’s on Sundays. You know what I mean? It’s definitely a part of the American way.

Film Courage: How did Concussed: The American Dream Begin?

Ray: This journey began in 2016 when my partner on the film, David Kano writer/director, was working on this as part of his thesis for his Master’s.

Film Courage: Did you get involved together or he had the idea for his Master’s?

Ray: He had the idea for his Master’s and we were covering MMA and the sport of boxing at the time. It kind of went hand-in-hand and covering the head trauma in these different sports.

It just basically turned into what the documentary is now…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).

About:

Filmmaker Raymond J. Roman is a Producer on the documentary Concussed: The American Dream. With more than two decades of experience in video production since 2000, Ray has refined his expertise across various roles. For this documentary, he not only Produced but also applied his creative talents as the Director of Photography and Drone Operator. In addition to his film work, his company, Ray Roman Media, specializes in capturing commercial and residential real estate listings throughout Southern California, as well as covering local stories from San Diego to Riverside County. Ray Roman is consistently working on new projects and looks forward to sharing upcoming stories with his audience.