Hot Docs

Fightville

Screenings

Thu, Apr 28 10:30 PM Winter Garden Theatre	Not Available
Fri, Apr 29 2:45 PM Isabel Bader Theatre	Not Available
Tue, May 3 4:45 PM Cumberland 2	Not Available

85 minutes | USA | English | International Premiere | Rating: 14A

On February 10, 2011, a block of 42,000 tickets went on sale for Toronto’s first UFC Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition. Within an hour only single tickets were left. The second 13,000 ticket block lasted four minutes. Pulling in an estimated $11 million in gate revenue for this show alone, MMA has grown from a controversial sideshow into a billion-dollar enterprise promising fame and fortune for the men who emerge from the ring as champions. In a small gym in Louisiana where competitors mop up their own blood between battles, Dustin Poirier and Albert Stainback are two young fighters with potential and a dream. Through their trials, the nuanced tactics and extreme self-discipline of MMA become apparent. This is a brutal sport but there is a surprising grace and spirituality to it. Filmmakers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein provide remarkable texture here, through the shotgun houses and hot nights to the sweat-soaked dreams and defeats. This is competition and the American Dream at its most primal. Who has what it takes to be the best? - Sarafina DiFelice.

Subjects :