Raven Banner is on deck at Fantasia to screen its package at this year’s 26th in-person edition, including and not limited to company co-founder and Spare Parts helmer Andrew T. Hunt’s new action drama, The Fight Machine. Based on the novel “The Fighter” by acclaimed author Craig Davidson (Jacques Audiard’s Rust & Bone), Hunt co-penned the pic with Davidson for a cast led by rising stars Greg Hovanessian and Dempsey Bryk.
In The Fight Machine, Paul Harris leads a sheltered existence. The son of a winery owner, his suits and cars are paid for, his career in the family business assured. He is insulated from the rough realities of life—until a vicious barroom beating sets him down a new path.
Rob Tully also feels that his life is on a set course. A born boxer with natural talent, Rob trains with his father, Reuben, and his uncle Tommy, both of whom believe that a gift like his can change their lives.
Rob and Paul’s fathers want so much more for their sons than they ever had themselves, but both sons are determined to find their own way. While Paul descends into the world of hardcore bodybuilding and boxing gyms, Rob struggles under the expectations set upon his young shoulders.
Their disparate paths lead to The Barn, an underground fight venue where vicious and hopeless men brawl for cold hard cash. No rules, no limits, no brakes. And when two fighters step into a ring where anything goes, sometimes only one walks out.
Veteran Canadian actors Natasha Henstridge and Michael Ironside also star along with Greg Bryk, joining his son Dempsey as father and son onscreen. The film is set for two Fantasia screening dates on July 27 at 6:45 pm, and July 29 at 1:00pm both at the J.A. De Sève cinema in Montreal.
