Christy

Biopic telling the story of Christy Martin – America’s most important female boxer, who in the 1990s achieved unprecedented success in this predominantly male field yet had to pay a big price for it. For a tomboy from a small mining town in Western Virginia, box becomes a ticket to a bigger world – which isn’t necessarily more open to diversity. Even though Christy quickly manages to climb the ranks of the sports world, the men around her rarely see her as anything more than an object through which they can secure their own status. The situation becomes even more complicated when, over time, her trainer – who is also her husband – begins to reveal his possessive, controlling nature. The film’s dense atmosphere, built around the rhythm of successive fights, is intensified by a breakthrough performance from Sydney Sweeney – this role couldn’t be more distant from her previous image as a somewhat jaded, self-assured young woman. Her Christy is strong and fragile at the same time, both arrogant and unsure of herself; she fiercely attacks on the ring but is also easily hurt. Katy O’Brian also pops up here in a small but memorable role. You might remember her from the badass Love Lies Bleeding (15th AFF) — and you can catch her again at this year’s TAURON AFF in Queens of the Dead.