Series: International Art House Series, Running the Screen: Directed by Women
Famed as much for his flamboyant drag and sky-high pompadour as for his show-stopping kicks and flips, lucha libre star Cassandro’s trailblazing ascent as one the industry’s first openly gay wrestlers has resonated internationally for a quarter century. Shot entirely in 16mm, director Marie Losier’s stirring portrait of prize-winning fighter and queer icon Cassandro in his waning years in the ring is less a swan song than a meteor shower rendered in Technicolor. The film captures the moving, at times humorous, and always colorful dualities of this legendary figure while celebrating his individuality. Cassandro reinvented a staunchly macho sport and exudes resilience of all kinds—from the physical power to leave his opponents KOed to an ability to revisit past trauma and cope with the scars of a body pushed to its limits. Losier melds tender encounters and larger-than-life fight scenes into a stylish whole that reflects the vivid textures and hues of a dazzling life in sport. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. Contains mature content.
