Alexi Pappas completed her thesis in poetry at Dartmouth College where she graduated magna cum laude before running off to compete in the 2012 Olympic Track & Field Trials. Alexi then joined the Ducks as a University of Oregon 5th year student, leading the team to two NCAA championships. She now runs professionally for the Nike Oregon Track Club Elite in Eugene, Oregon and has qualified to run in the 2016 Olympics this summer in the 10,000 meters for Team Greece. Pappas co-wrote the script for the award-winning feature film “Tall as the Baobab Tree.” She is the co-founder of Film Fatales Portland Chapter for female directors in the Pacific Northwest.

“Tracktown” will premiere at the 2016 LA Film Festival on June 4. The film is co-directed by Jeremy Teicher.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

AP: “Tracktown” is a fictional film inspired by my real-life experience and observations as a professional runner chasing the Olympic dream. The film is a patchwork quilt of personalities and occurrences woven together to capture a truthful emotional core: the feeling of being young and trying your hardest to pursue a dream at the expense of most normal life experiences, and at the same time, questioning if your dream is really what will make you happiest.

I shot the film in Eugene, Oregon where I live and train — all of the runners in the film are real-life Olympic hopefuls, including many former Olympians.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

AP: I believe that with independent filmmaking, it’s very important to focus on telling stories that only you can tell. As a professional runner I have access into a world that would normally be off-limits for most filmmakers, and I also have a unique perspective based on my female elite athletic experience.

The main character in “Tracktown” is a young woman who must figure out how to exist as both “girl” and “athlete” — a question that I’ve had to answer in my own life as I began focusing on my Olympic training. I felt confident that these building-blocks would result in a film that nobody else could have made: a film that would be true to my journey as a female elite athlete.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

AP: “Tracktown” opens a window into a very unique and specific world that few people get to see — and by sharing at one specific point-of-view, I hope that the film inspires people to reflect on their own lives and dreams, and what it feels like to want something with all your might.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

AP: Blending fiction with reality by shooting the film during my Olympic training cycle was both an incredible gift and also a fun challenge. We worked around my training schedule, as well as the training schedules of the other athletes in the film.

Production took place during my yearly “down month” from training, where I run much less mileage than normal. Jeremy, my partner and co-director, helped me by working while I napped and riding a bike alongside my training runs when we had important production discussions that could not wait.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

AP: “Tracktown” was funded through a combination of private equity investment, grants, and incredible in-kind support at every stage of production. Our co-producer Laura Wagner participated in the Sundance Creative Producing Labs with “Tracktown,” as well as the San Francisco Film Society/KRF Producer’s Initiative. Their support and advice was very helpful both creatively and [production wise] as we developed the story and production.

The majority of our funding came from film investors with a direct interest in the world of elite athletics and Olympic running.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

AP: The best advice I’ve gotten is from Joan Darling, who was my mentor and acting coach before we shot “Tracktown.” Since I was a first-time screen actor, she taught me how to warm up as an actor the same way an athlete might warm up for competition. She also told me that to act is to be vulnerable, just like I might feel in a running race.

The worst advice I’ve gotten was from someone told me that it would be impossible to balance running and filmmaking. You can’t wait for permission: you have to build things yourself and lead with positivity.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

AP: The best advice I have for any director is to tell stories that only you can tell.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

AP: “Me And You And Everyone We Know.” I admire Miranda July and her bravery.