Flint, Michigan, stand up!
Undisputed knockout Ryan Destiny packs a powerful punch as Olympic Gold medalist Claressa Shields whose inspirational true story is told through an unflinching lens in Oscar-buzzy Boxing Drama The Fire Inside.
Source: Amazon MGM Studios
Hailing from Flint, Michigan, Claressa–a high school Junior from Flint, Michigan–punches past all limitations to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing.
With tough love from coach Jason Crutchfield, Claressa ascends to boxing stardom while reckoning with the fact that not all dreams are created equal.
Check out the trailer below:
Written by Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins and directed by Oscar-nominee Rachel Morrison, the critically-acclaimed film stars Destiny opposite Oscar-nominee Brian Tyree Henry who opened up about the film after the premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
“I think it really helped in the end because I feel like it made me let go a little bit,” said Destiny in an interview with Variety. “You just get more into the project as the process keeps going. And you get a callback and you actually get the part and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I’m really doing this.’”
“She would ask me if I had ever been in a fight before, that was one of the first questions she ever asked me,” Destiny continued. “And I was like, ‘Girl, absolutely not.’” “I think for a split second that scared her, but I think throughout the rest of the process she was like, ‘Oh, OK. This is what it is.’ And I’m so happy that afterward too, [when she saw] the film, she absolutely loved it.”
Source: Amazon MGM Studios
Henry, who continues to elevate films with his impressive range, had this to say about playing the famed coach who molded Shields into the global phenomenon she is today.
“Here you have this two-time Gold medalist, female, Black boxer from Flint, Mich., that isn’t getting the front covers or isn’t being heralded as one of the greatest Champs of all-time,” he said.
“And so for me, it started upsetting, and I really wanted to make sure that we told the story in a way that felt genuine and felt true to her, which I knew we were because Rachel was attached to it. And the second part was Ryan. Immediately when I saw she was a part of it I was incredibly excited.”
The Fire Inside punches its way into theaters this Christmas.