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Tuesday, 20 January 2009

TORONTO (CANADA) - Real Fight Club, a commissioned documentary for Canada’s Global Television network produced by Peace Point Entertainment Group weighs in on the controversy over extreme fighting or Mixed Martial Arts. This 60-minute Canadian documentary examines this new sport considered an 'art' by some and 'barbaric' by others by visiting the stakeholders from both sides of the debate.

Real Fight Club, originally aired last May, will air again on Saturday, January 31 at 7 p.m. nationwide on Global Television as part of the award-winning documentary series Global Currents. Please note airing schedule is subject to change. Canadian MMA star and co-star of Real Fight Club Georges St. Pierre has the fight of his career in Las Vegas also on Jan. 31.

Editors please note hi-res images available for download, click on image below:

Fighting is one of the inescapable conditions of humanity, second only to the propagation of the species. From cavemen battling for fire to full-on war between armoured armies, people have always squared off against each other but it is now happening at an unprecedented level. Television, the Internet and video games have made personal combat an easily accessible entertainment. Real Fight Club is an in-depth examination of the social and cultural impact on Canada and Canadians of one of the newest forms of this human condition—brutal fighting as sport.

Real Fight Club documents Albert Doxtator and his journey to overcome racism and sexual, drug and alcohol abuse through mixed martial arts (MMA). Doxtator is challenging the government to legalize the sport that saved his life. As a member of the Oneida Nation, he is able to stage and promote fights on the Oneida Reservation (near London, ON.) through a 150-year-old treaty that puts him beyond the laws of Ontario that have declared MMA illegal. The film chronicles Doxtator’s efforts to train and manage his fighters, men who dream of making it to the wildly popular Ultimate Fighting Championship, where fame and fortune await those who can fight and win against the best of the modern gladiators of MMA. Also included in the doc is MMA star Georges Saint Pierre.

The documentary also examines the other side of the story: the refusal of Ken Hayashi and the Ontario Athletic Commission to endorse MMA due to the extreme level of violence in a sport only in its infancy and its absence of an amateur network. Hayashi is himself a martial artist but determined to enforce the law of the land (the same argument Doxtator uses for staging fights on the reservation).

Real Fight Club chronicles this ongoing battle as its narrative arc introduces the myriad of social, health, moral and financial issues that fighting for sport and money creates, examining them from both sides of the equation. Interviews with social and health workers, sportscasters, law enforcement officials and cultural experts provide a contextual framework and reference to the story of Doxtator and Hayashi. This engaging film will inform and entertain audiences fascinated by this new genre, while compelling them to rethink their biases and begin a necessary debate on the role of fighting in our society.

Executive Producer, Les Tomlin
Supervising Producer, Vallery Hyduk
Written & Directed by James Hyslop
Producer, Craig Fleming (Ed's Up for Peace Point) with Ian Wisniewski and Wyatt Chinn (Creative Producers).
Produced in association with Global Television, a division of Canwest Media Inc.

Peace Point Entertainment Group is a Toronto-based independent producer of cutting-edge television content for the worldwide market.

To date, Peace Point has produced over 400 hours of television content with distribution in over 35 international markets. Current shows in production and/or airing this year include Ed’s Up! (OLN Canada), Bump! (OUTtv), Food Jammers (Food Canada), Fresh with Anna Olson (Food Canada), Reality Obsessed (TVtropolis) and Real Fight Club documentary (Global TV). The company creates, finances, produces and distributes popular television programming in a variety of genres including doc, lifestyle, reality and drama. Additionally, Peace Point is a shareholder of OUTtv Canada where Tomlin also sits on the board. OUTtv is a national Canadian digital specialty channel (formerly PrideVision). For more information and video clips, log onto: www.peacepoint.tv