Luchadoras
(Luchadoras)
Paola Calvo, Patrick Jasim | Documentary
2021 | 93 minutes | Germany
Courageous female wrestlers defy societal norms and machismo, redefining the image of women in Mexico. Their strength in the ring thus mirrors their daily fight for gender equality.
Synopsis
The film is an intimate portrait of three courageous female Luchadoras (wrestlers) from Ciudad Juárez. Despite being surrounded by machismo, they redefine the image of women in Mexico.
The short-statured Mini Serinita’s dream is to become a full time Luchadora and leave the factory work that disenfranchises so many women for good. Lady Candy can see the U.S. Border from her house. Her daughters were taken to the U.S., but due to visa regulations she cannot cross the border to see them. Baby Star is a young single mother with a Lucha Libre childhood past. She is looking to make a comeback. With Mexican passion, they present a new image of what it means to be a woman in Mexico.
* Spanish language audio description is available via the ALL4ACCESS App and/or .wav file when purchasing a DSL license.
Accessibility for these films was created by DICAPTA and funded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education- Office of Special Education-OSEP, project “Enhanced Access to Video for Students with Sensory Disabilities through Emerging Technology,” TV Access H327C210001.
Reviews
"It's an incredibly strong documentary, whose potent combination of the exotically particular and the grimly universal ought to see it traveling far beyond its borders." - Demetrios Matheou, Screen International
"Luchadoras is a compelling feminist perspective of a subculture, but what makes this wrestling film stand out is the examination of social issues that envelop the subjects' lives." - Musanna Ahmed, Film Inquiry
"A stirring tribute to a group of women who are courageous both in and outside of the ring, and who retain a vibrancy of spirit in spite of harrowing circumstances." - Shaun Munro, Flickering Myth
Citation
Main credits
Calvo, Paola (filmmaker)
Jasmin, Patrick (filmmaker)
Kaminiak, Phillip (film producer)
Other credits
Cinematography, Patrick Jasmin; editing, Ginés Olivares; music, Lonski & Classen.
Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects
Body Image
Culture + Identity
Gender + Sexuality Studies
Human Rights
Latin American Studies
Migration Studies
North America
Sociology
Women
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
South by Southwest; Women+Film Colorado; Milwaukee Film Festival; Oak Cliff Film Festival; San Francisco IndieFest; AFI Docs; Thessaloniki Doc Film Festival; North Bend Film Festival; Documentaries From The Edge; New Haven Film Festival; Films By The Sea; Nottingham International Film Festival; Reykjavik Film Festival; Media Festival Skopje; Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival; Inconvenient Films; Cinemassi Film Festival; Valladolid International Film Festival; Leeds International Film Festival; One World Slovakia; EQUIS; Loft Film Fest; Los Cabos International Film Festival; Films From The South; Gulf German Film Festival; FILMAR; Calgary Underground Film Festival; German Films Moscow
DIRECTOR: Paola Calvo, Patrick Jasim
NATIONALITY: Germany
YEAR: 2021
GENRE: Documentary
LANGUAGE: Spanish
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adult
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: AVAILABLE
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