Double Bounce

Just over six minutes long, ‘Double Bounce’ is an emotional watch. More emotional than most full-length feature films. The documentary tells the inspirational story of Mario Roque Garcia, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a motorbike accident but who rebuilt his life to become a wheelchair tennis player with ambitions of competing in the Paralympics.

Directed and filmed by Christina Lao, and sponsored by HEAD, the award-winning ‘Double Bounce’ captures Mario’s attitude that “life goes on” and his pride in the person he has become since the accident. The title is a play on words – you’re allowed two bounces in wheelchair tennis and Mario has rebounded since the life-changing moment in Barcelona when he was hit by car while on his motorbike.

Before the accident, Mario had a dream of becoming a professional footballer – that was crushed in an instant. “All my life, my dream was to become a professional football player. This was my true passion. I have always wanted to fulfil this dream or at least see how far I could go. And, in the end, it was not supposed to be,” he said.

Mario had sold his car because he couldn’t afford it. Getting around Barcelona on a motorbike was quicker, too. “A car turned without a signal. The only thing I remember is the impact and then I woke up on the ground, unable to move. All the way to the hospital I was vomiting, vomiting blood, and I was in a lot of pain. I remember I told the ambulance [crew] to call my mum to let her know something bad had happened,” Mario said. “I was admitted to the ICU [intensive care unit] for a week because they didn’t really know if I would survive. It was really serious. Everything I knew, my life, my studies, my work… I went from having a normal life to being in a hospital bed without really understanding what was happening to me.”

Soon Mario was relearning how to do “basic movements”. “I had rehab from Monday to Friday from nine until five, every day basic movements that you don’t think you have to relearn and therefore after some time I saw that I was getting better,” he said. “After one and a half years, I started to think that I could rebuild my life and also come back with my goals to go forward.”