GIVE ME THE BALL!

DocumentaryIN-CINEMA

Furtive glances, sexy fashion, the alcohol-fuelled excuse to flirt, dance and sneak past the fences: rodeo culture offers more than bull riding. In intimate profiles of queer Michoacáns—from a free and femme church leader to a hypermasculine cowboy—Efraín Mojica attempts to deconstruct the traditions and contradictions of their roots. For as long as Mojica can remember, Mexico’s jaripeo bull-riding events have been part of their life—from bored childhood trips to teen cowboy fantasies to the present, lost in the packed crowd on a hot Christmas Day. The masculinized events are seeped in religion and booze, but within and often because of the strict codes, queer subcultures flourish. Mojica and Rebecca Zweig’s documentary lassos together these complexities, doing so in kinetic and sensual ways, fingers slipping down ropes, hips bucking on top of a bull. Together, the two directors maximize the filmic medium, combining frank, beautifully lensed conversations with mesmeric Super 8 footage, pulse-pounding music, and dreamy sequences: red lights flashing among dried corn stalks; a red-eyed mechanical bull, nose steaming. The film acting as a bridge between the vivid external and internal lives of a region and its defining rituals.

DocumentaryIN-CINEMAVIRTUAL

One fateful morning, Brittney Griner’s everyday life went from easy dunks and admiring crowds as a WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist, to unrelenting fear, malnourishment, and dangerous work conditions in a freezing cold Russian penal colony. With less than a gram of cannabis oil found in her luggage, what might be considered careless oversight led to immense repercussions that rocked nations, became a wedge political issue, and would be used as a cudgel against “wokeness.” Captured by director Alexandria Stapleton (Sean Combs: The Reckoning), Griner’s rise to fame, family dynamics, and home life with her wife and baby are interspersed with a play-by-play of the incident. Griner, given the circumstances, comes off as affable and gracious, even as she recounts her harrowing 295 days in custody. It is in the aftermath of this spectacle that we witness the joy of a fresh start through the continuation of her wife’s tireless advocacy for international hostages and a renewed appreciation for her beloved sport.

FeatureIN-CINEMA

On the track, everything is about winning. Off it, two women discover something far more complicated: desire, intimacy, and the thrill of finding someone who can match your stride. Robert Towne’s Personal Best is a sensual, athletic, and quietly radical portrait of queer desire and female ambition. Chris Cahill (Mariel Hemingway) is a talented young track-and-field athlete still searching for confidence when she meets Tory Skinner (Patrice Donnelly), an accomplished pentathlete preparing for the Olympic Trials. Their friendship quickly deepens into an intimate relationship, while Tory becomes both Chris’s mentor and fiercest competitor. Training together under demanding coach Terry Tingloff (Scott Glenn), the women push each other toward new heights. But as Chris’s abilities grow, so does the tension between them. The demands of elite competition—and the possibility of Olympic glory—force them to navigate the shifting boundaries between love, friendship, rivalry, and independence. Towne’s directorial debut remains striking for its frank portrayal of women athletes and queer intimacy. Shot with an immediacy that captures both the physical intensity of competition and the sensuality of the women’s relationship, Personal Best is a film about bodies in motion, ambition, desire, and the complicated ways we push one another to become our best selves.

FeatureIN-CINEMA

In an Ohio town where “Jesus Is the Answer,” bodybuilder Eddie scrapes by on cam work, determined to go pro backed by the ultimate momager. But when an alluring older coach offers to mould him, Eddie is tempted by success and his nascent bisexuality to shred the ties that bind. Hype woman, tan technician, co-dependent—Eddie’s boozing, pill-popping mom (Tony nominee Tammy Blanchard) fiercely champions her son (Brock Yurich). But she’s never led him to victory. Coach Mike (Mike Edward) guarantees he can. Under his tutelage, Eddie gains confidence, technique, and access to free performance-enhancing drugs, as well as a crush, every muscle graze the prelude to an explosive awakening. Unbeknownst to Mike, Eddie is also mastering finesse through ballet lessons with the ex-girlfriend (Paloma Garcia-Lee) he’s still enamoured with. A combination that may be enough to conquer his cocky rival—the estranged son Mike desperately wants back in his life—or cause Eddie to crucify himself in the process. Featuring Glee’s Matthew Morrison as a dictatorial pastor, Test is fascinating filmmaking unafraid to wrestle with tough conversations and thorny themes, from religion to body image, steroid use to economic desperation.