Sunday, December 21, 2008

Princess of Pain Brings Women's MMA to the Movies



From The Smashing Machine, which aired on HBO as part of the network's documentary series, to Hollywood fare such as David Mamet's Red Belt, there have been opportunities for fans of many facets of the MMA world, but rarely has the female side of the sport been explored to much depth.

This is something that Princesses of Pain promoter Belinda Dunne hopes to change this coming film festival season with the release of a documentary shot during the promotion's May show.

"It's more about educating people about what female fighters are," said Dunne of the documentary. "In the end it's going to be very powerful because you're going to see some sad moments, happy moments, and angry moments -- mostly from me -- you're going to see the highs and lows of what it takes to put a television production and film together."

Belinda discussed the decision to submit the movie to the film festival circuit, including the Cannes Film Festival, possibly the most influential and prestigious platform for independent film.

"Right from the very beginning I had a very clear outline of what I wanted to achieve," she said. "It was always a target, what we always wanted.

"Also the reason I chose to go the film festival route instead of TV, because if I sent it to a network it would be changed too much. I needed to put the real story out there, that is what we set out to do and that is what we've done."

Dunne hopes the documentary will allow the promotion to expand beyond its New Zealand routes and truly become an international female fight league for women fighters both elite and novices, as well expand into the growing television market for MMA-based programming.

"I do believe with the production partners that we have and the direction that we've researched quite clearly, I do think we are onto a good direction and that you'll see some big things from us soon," she stated.

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