Women Make Waves International Film Festival

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    A Knock Out

    Tessa Boerman Samuel Reiziger 2004 Netherlands Documentary color 53min Dutch, English VHS
    Boxing champion Michele Aboro grew up in South London, where life for a girl was never easy, let alone for a mixed-race lesbian girl. Thanks to her tenacious spirit and an uncanny talent for combat sports, she put her difficult past behind her and managed to sign a contract with the biggest boxing promoter in Europe. She won all 21 fights, 18 of them with a knockout - an exceptional achievement in women’s boxing. But despite her spectacular record in the ring, her career came to a sudden halt when her promoter broke her contract under the belief that she was not "promotable." Refusing to vamp up her image and pose naked in magazines, this undefeated world champion was abandoned by an industry more interested in selling sex than sport. A KNOCK OUT interweaves Aboro’s personal story with interviews with boxers whose wild success strikes a painful contrast with Aboro's struggles. Searching for logic behind Aboro’s case, this poignant documentary captures a universal story of fighting for one's identity and offers a probing look at the intersection of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and the increased commercialization of women's sports.

    Director

    Tessa Boerman

    Tessa Boerman is a Dutch filmmaker who focuses on the representation of women of color. Her documentaries highlight different aspects of beauty, ideals and belonging. Her film also implicates that the white beauty ideal does not stand alone but relates to broader issues such as everyday and institutionalized racism as well.

    Samuel Reiziger

    Samuel Reiziger is a composer/musician and director of commercial videos. He worked as a researcher and programmaker for Reiziger in Muziek, an acclaimed music program on VPRO tv station.

    Tessa Boerman
    Samuel Reiziger

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