An Inspiring Wrestling Tale

Bruce Von Stiers

There is a documentary film which features high school wrestlers. And not just any wrestlers. And not just any school. The title of the film is LUCHA: A Wrestling Tale. The film is by Waffle Iron Entertainment in association with Noble Heart Films.

The film begins in the lunchroom of Taft High School in the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City. Josh Lee is the wrestling coach. He is trying to teach a group of girls some basic wrestling moves and some exercises to improve balance and stamina. Exercises like Leap Frog. And he has them attempting to do cartwheels.

Lee talks about how when he first came to Taft, they didn't have a wrestling team. And when his colleagues found out he was going to be at Taft, he learned that it was the first school in the country to get metal detectors. And that a teacher had been killed there.

Nyasia is a sophomore. She just can't wait for her first match as a wrestler. Shirley is a junior. She has had a dream where she is in college at the University of Buffalo. But in real life, she is afraid of rejection letters from colleges or no scholarships at all. And after college she wants to get as far away from the Bronx as possible.

We learn that the structure for the training is very disciplined. And that if the wrestlers don't make passing grades, they don't get to wrestle. Possibly not even getting to wrestle all season.

A few of the girls on the team come from other places. One girl is from the Dominican Republic. Another girl is from Gambia.

Then the film shows the first match for the Taft girls. Even though they won several matches, the school lost to the team from Bronx Science. There is heartbreak and tears shed. But, in an earlier segment, one of the girls said that there would be tears shed at the first match.

Then there is another segment on Shirley. She has become team captain for both the girls and boys wrestling teams and is coaching a middle school wrestling team. She doesn't have a permanent home and her most prized possession is her gold medal she won as a wrestler.

These are but a few of the stories that the film goes through. The audience gets to see the triumphs and the defeats, the letdowns and the buildups of these girls. The film mostly focuses on the lives of Shirley; the girl from the Dominican Republic, Alba, who arrived in New York the day after Christmas and Nyasia, who is having trouble getting her grades up so she can wrestle. There is also the girl from Gambia, whose religion and familial culture goes against her as an athlete.

The first season doesn't end great, but the girls all come back the next year. Except for Shirley, who must work to pay off some bills. The second year shows how the girls train and that Nyasia is competing in a co-ed wrestling tournament.

One of the best things that I heard Josh Lee say in the film is to the team. It is that no team has been through more off the wrestling mat than they have. And for them to remember if they can do it on the wrestling mat, nothing will ever be that hard again.

At the end of the film, Taft gets their first Individual Champion trophy. The school had never had a wrestling trophy before. That was a great accomplishment for both the wrestler, the coaches and for the school itself. As for Shirley, her life ended up a bit different, but she came out resilient.

After the filming was concluded, there have been over one hundred young women who have wrestled on the Taft team. Those included three city champions and two state champions.

Marc Ricci was the director of the film. He directed The Marconi Brothers and two episodes of The Sonnet Project. Mauricio Vasquez was the director of photography. And it was edited by Leah Goudsmit.

The film had several producers. They were Robert Carrillo, Joshua Lee, Justin Biskin, Sammy Brennan, Peter Skrumbis and Ibtihaj Muhammad.

There is a great song during the ending credits by Maia Moham called Fighters.

The film has won several awards. Those were the Metropolis Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 DOC NYC Film Festival and the Audience Award at the 2024 Salem Film Festival. It also received an Honorable Mention in the Best Social Impact Award at the 2024 Greenwich International Film Festival.

And the film is a finalist at the 2024 Santa Clarita International Film Festival.

LUCHA: A Wrestling Tale is an excellent documentary. It is not just a film about girls joining their school's wrestling program. It is about moving beyond expectations. And having the fortitude to become a champion for change. As someone who was a failed wrestler for just one season in junior high, I understood the angst and emotional turmoil that comes with training and not being able to win. But the determination and resilience of the young women in the film is truly inspiring.

To learn more about the film, and the wrestling program at Taft High School, visit https://www.luchamovie.com/

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© 2024 Bruce E Von Stiers