Cagefighter

An impressionistic documentary that follows the intersecting lives of a group of mixed martial arts fighters before, during and after a Las Vegas title fight. The film humanizes the brutal profession and illuminates the primal struggle for survival in a cold, emotionless, post-industrial America. Finished in 2007, this film ran into immediate difficulties when it came to obtaining release forms for the fighters who Cianfrance had interviewed, without which they couldn’t legally be shown on film. The documentary has been shelved and is unlikely to ever be released.