The documentary filmmaking team of Suzannah Herbert and
Lauren Belfer will see their award-winning — Denver International Film Festival,
Indie Memphis Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival (and many more) — documentary
on the life and times of four members of Huntville’s J.O. Johnson High School’s
wrestling team, Wrestle,
arrive as both DVD and Blu-ray product offerings from Oscilloscope Laboratories
on June 11.
Wrestle hit
the festival circuit beginning in April of last year and continued to chalk up
wins and positive buzz throughout the balance of 2018. In February of this year, Oscilloscope began
to release the film in selected theatrical venues — it will continue to play in
theatres here and there right up until the home entertainment launch.
For the record, the ARR works out to 109 days.
Filmmakers Herbert and Belfer set out to follow
senior members of the high school wrestling team, but their journey quickly
changed into coverage of four members of the team and their lives well-beyond
the sport, training and competition.
The film — culled from over 650 hours of filming and
contact with members of the team — follows Teague Berres and his three black
teammates, Jaquan Rhodes, Jamario Rowe and Jailen Young through their grueling
practice routines, their home life — and street life — and the camaraderie of
the competition.
For the young black members of the team, the life in
and around of being members of the wrestling team helps provide the “family”
and discipline that is often lacking in their “real” world lives. Does it make them perfect; better? Perhaps, but they still make mistakes and Herbert
and Belfer’s camera captures some of these potential life-changing
moments.
You have to remember, this is a documentary, not a
drama; not scripted. Wrestle is
real world, but serves as a stark reminder of what life can be like for some
young men when team (and all that goes with it) and a chance to excel might
just be the difference between having a future … and the darkness.
Bonus features include deleted scenes and a video
session with filmmakers Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer.
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