Thursday, 08 May 2008
A Global TV Documentary On Mixed Martial Arts
Airing May 17, 2008 (nationwide) On Global Currents
TORONTO (CANADA) – Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 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 will air May 17, 2008 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.
"To expose this type of sport to the general public is very risky," says director James Hyslop, "but with very rare footage and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at this subculture, we are proud to bring it to the forefront of audiences everywhere.”
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.
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.
Real Fight Club is our second documentary for Global Television's documentary series, Global Currents,” says Peace Point Entertainment Group President and Executive Producer Les Tomlin. "Last year, our first doc DecAIDS went on to win awards and screen at festivals around the world so we can’t wait to see how audiences will react to Real Real Fight Club."
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.
Last year, Peace Point aired its documentary DecAIDS: Anything is Possible on Global Television’s Global Currents documentary series, which was a 60-minute documentary about the Fashion Cares fundraiser in Toronto. DecAIDS recently won an award at the AIDS Film Festival in New York City and has screened at several international film festivals.
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
About Global Currents:
Global Currents is a Gemini award-winning, critically acclaimed documentary series from Global Television that is committed to revealing extraordinary perspectives and issues affecting all Canadians. Hosted by Global National anchor and executive editor Kevin Newman, each weekly one-hour, independently produced documentary represents the talents of Canada’s best socio-political, environmental, humanist and scientific documentary filmmakers. Global Currents recently won the Best Documentary Series award at the 2007 Gemini Awards. www.globaltv.com/globalcurrents.
Shot in London ON (Oneida Settlement), Hamilton ON,
Toronto ON and Las Vegas, NV
For more media information, including screeners, photos and interviews with Les Tomlin, Craig Fleming, Albert Doxtator or Joe Ferraro please contact:
Michael Joseph Ianni / Daniel Paquette
Daniel Paquette Public Relations
416 413-7714
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.dppr.ca
Yvonne Chiang
News Publicist
Global Television, a division of Canwest Media Inc.
Office: 604-422-6736; Cell: 778 241-0143
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BIOS:
Albert Doxtator - "Fighting Spirit" (available for interviews)
Albert Doxtator is a member of the Oneida nation of the Thames located outside of London Ontario. Albert has been involved in martial arts for 24 years starting at age 6 with traditional Karate. At age 13 he became involved in judo then moved into jui jitsui at 16. He began MMA fighting soon afterwards. In 1999 he received a chance to display his skills in the Canadian Pankration Championships, winning 3 out of 3 matches in the tournament to win the Canadian title. In 2000, Doxtator was a Pankration World Finalist in Greece. Doxtator is now involved in promoting MMA in Ontario. His relationship to the Oneida Nation puts him in a very convenient position that allows him to stage his tournaments on his reserve, away from the laws of Ontario, particularly the ones that state that what he does is illegal.
Joe Ferraro – "Opinion Maker" (available for interviews)
Joe Ferraro is a MMA Sports Commentator for Sportsnet and an OMMA Board Member. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Ferraro owns Showdown Entertainment. He provides fight analysis and colour commentary on television, radio, Pay-Per-View, and DVD. Ferraro has worked behind the scenes with various Canadian MMA Organizations and has become a consultant to industry leaders in the areas of production, promotions, public relations, sales and marketing and fighter management. Organizer of a grappling extravaganza in Toronto appropriately called The Toronto Showdown Grappling Open. He is one of the foremost participants in the movement to sanction and legalize the MMA in Ontario.
Georges St Pierre – "Rush"
Georges Saint-Pierre (born May 19, 1981), often referred to as GSP, is a French-Canadian mixed martial arts fighter, former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion and current interim welterweight champion. He is ranked by MMAWeekly and Sherdog as the #1 170 lb (77 kg) fighter in the world.