Acclaimed cinematographer Rachel Morrison (Black Panther) makes her feature film debut as a director with this inspirational sports drama: the true story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, considered by many to be the greatest female boxer of all time. With a screenplay by Miami’s own Barry Jenkins, the film follows Shields (played by Ryan Destiny) as the high school junior from Flint, Michigan, trains for the 2012 Olympics, where she became the first American woman to win a gold medal in boxing. Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) plays her “tough love” coach, Jason Crutchfield, who pushes her hard towards victory. “In more pedestrian hands, her story might easily have emerged as standard triumph-over-adversity fare,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter, “but in this case, the assembled talent brings their A-game, yielding results that transcend convention at every turn.”
The film will be introduced by Lovia Gyarkye, arts and culture critic for The Hollywood Reporter, who will join Time magazine’s Stephanie Zacharek for a post-show discussion.
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