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All American
TYPE: Documentary
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Completed
LOGLINE
In this modern, coming of age documentary, Naomi, Joanne and Arham grapple with economic divides, gender roles, and family dynamics while competing in the fastest growing high school sport in the country: girl’s wrestling.
SYNOPSIS
ALL AMERICAN follows the lives of three immigrant and first-generation high school girl wrestlers, who train and compete against both boys and girls, as their devoted coaches prepare them for competition and lives beyond high school. The film takes place during their high school and early college years and ends at present day with each character battling new, unexpected challenges in a world transformed by the pandemic. An ensemble cast of teammates and coaches provide perspective and shared experience. Family dynamics, economics and gender roles collide in this underdog story of community and found family. It is the experience on the mat which can hopefully give our girls confidence and opportunities that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
All American highlights widespread social issues—gender discrimination and bias, economic and racial inequality, and the intersection of these factors—by telling the story of female athletes, past and present, competing in a traditionally male combat sport. Interviews with the first generation of women wrestlers, enhanced with material from their personal archives, document the sport’s history of discrimination. This serves to contextualize the experience of our film’s protagonists. The theme of family or ‘found family’ connects all the topics within women’s high school wrestling. An ensemble cast of athletes, parents, and coaches provides perspective and insight into the realities of women in the sport. Voiceover and interviews guide the conversation, with occasional prompts or questions from behind the camera. The filmmakers’ presence is acknowledged but subtle.
KEY CREW
Mark Andrew Altschul - Director / Producer / Cinematographer
Mark Andrew, photographer, cinematographer, and director has made a career producing honest and powerful images of the everyday. He has partnered with leading advertising and branding agencies along with clients directly to create award winning campaigns and content. A few select clients include the NY Times, Pepsi, NFL, Sony, Adidas, Nike, Microsoft, Samsung and Aeromexico. Along with his narrative and documentary work, his film projects have been shown at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. His photography work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. He currently resides in NYC with his wife and son, but his hometown of New Orleans is always in his heart.
Evan Murphy Johnston - Editor
Evan Johnson discovered his passion for documentary film while studying at NYU’s KanbarInstitute of Film and Television. Soon after, he was learning hands-on as an assistant editor for HBO’s “Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All” and “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge.” He helped craft Hulu’s “And We Go Green,” a film about electric-racecar drivers, PBS’s “The Oratorio,” Martin Scorsese’s “love letter to music,” and Disney’s “Afterward,” which follows an Israeli-American psychoanalyst as she probes the traumas of the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestine conflict. He just completed editing “The King of In Between'', a documentary about singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys.
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ACCOLADES
UPDATE - January 10, 2023
All American was honored to be accepted to Doc NYC Industry Rountables which was co presented by Showtime.
The competitively selected film teams that particpated in this year’s program included first-time directors and long-time industry veterans from across the world, including Canada, Finland, France, Iraq, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Qatar and the United States.
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