Wrestle Directed
by
Suzannah Herbert, director. Lauren Belfer, co-director. USA / 2018 / 98 minutes
Screening
Times and Venues:
Upstate Films II RHINEBECK
10/12/2018, 6:00PM
$10
Bearsville Theater WOODSTOCK
10/11/2018, 12:45PM
$10
SYNOPSIS:
WRESTLE is an intimate and nuanced documentary that follows the wrestling team at JO Johnson High School in Huntsville, which has been on Alabama's failing schools list for many years.
As they fight their way towards the State Championship and the doors they hope it will open, wrestlers Jailen, Jamario, Teague, and Jaquan each face injustices and challenges on and off the mat. Together they grapple with obstacles that jeopardize their success, and their coach - coming to terms with his own past conflicts - pushes them forward while unwittingly wading into the complexities of class and race in the South.
Through it all, the young heroes of WRESTLE - with humor and grit - strive towards their goals, making WRESTLE an inspiring coming of age journey and an impassioned depiction of growing up disadvantaged in America today.
BIO:
SUZANNAH HERBERT, Director/Writer/Producer
Originally from Memphis, Suzannah Herbert studied documentary filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. The first documentary she directed at Tisch, Central Park: The Park at the Center of the World, aired on several local PBS stations. Herbert's senior thesis, Home Game, premiered at DOC NYC, won the audience award for best short film at Indie Memphis Film Festival, and is now on-demand on Snagfilms.com. Herbert was the Associate Producer on Free Angela & All Political Prisoners, directed by Shola Lynch, and has since worked as an Assistant Editor on Michael Moore's Where To Invade Next, Fahrenheit 11/9, and Martin Scorsese's unannounced, upcoming documentary. Herbert made her feature directorial debut with WRESTLE at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival.
LAUREN BELFER, Co-Director/Writer/Lead Producer
Lauren Belfer is a producer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. She produced the narrative film AFTER LOUIE, starring Alan Cumming, and works frequently with Michael Moore, including on the Oscar-shortlisted WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, his 2016 election year treatise MICHAEL MOORE IN TRUMPLAND, and has been collaborating on his highly anticipated new film FAHRENHEIT 11/9. She has been the supervising producer for an unannounced documentary directed by Martin Scorsese and produced the feature-length documentary HOTLINE (Hot Docs 2014). WRESTLE is her first feature film.
MAIN CREDITS:
Cast/Featuring: @suzannahherbert, @ohlalaur
Executive Producer(s): Walker Deibel, Micheline Levine, Chad Troutwine
Producer(s): Lauren Belfer, Steven Klein, Seth Gordon, Suzannah Herbert, Sam Pollard, Mary Rolich
The Woodstock Film Festival is a not-for-profit, 501c3 organization with a mission to present an
annual program and year-round schedule of film, music,
and art-related activities that promote artists, culture,
inspired learning, and diversity. The Hudson Valley Film
Commission promotes sustainable economic development
by attracting and supporting film, video and media production.
