SOUTH BEND, Ind -- The inaugural Dynasty Sports Film Festival opened Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at Bendix Arena inside the Century Center in South Bend, Indiana.

Opening night featured a screening of the documentary "Lou Holtz: 60 Minutes to Play and a Lifetime to Remember," directed by Notre Dame film professor Ted Mandell. The film follows Holtz coming out of retirement to coach a team of Notre Dame alumni against Japan's national team at the Tokyo Dome in July 2009. Holtz died in March at age 89.

Before the screening, guests met former Notre Dame players and the filmmaker in the Century Center lobby, where Notre Dame artwork was on display.

Festival co-founder Marissa Hill told the audience the idea took shape while she was in South Bend for IDEA Week last year. She said she fell in love with the city's charm and saw that sports stories often get lost at major film festivals. She said she chose South Bend because of its ties to sports films like "Rudy" and "Hoosiers."

Former Notre Dame running back Reggie Brooks coached the running backs on the Japan trip. He said the film brought back memories from that week and that sports are as much about community as about the games themselves.

Mandell said filming Holtz up close felt like stepping into a lion's cage. He said he hopes the film works as a time capsule of what Holtz meant to Notre Dame and the community.

"Filming Coach Holtz, I tell people, it's kind of like if I gave you a camera and I said, go over to the Potawatomi Zoo and go into the lion's cage and film the lion… He's so intense when he's coaching." says Mandell. 

A Q&A with Mandell, Brooks and former players Chris Zorich and Kris Haines was announced to follow the screening. The festival runs through Sunday, Oct. 25.