Synopsis: Four members of a queer martial art club “Bender Defenders” in East London get together to celebrate trans people in sports through conversations about the necessity of anger, the pleasure of pain and the inevitability of friendship and joy as main tools of resistance.
About the Filmmaker: Ira Putilova is a non-binary filmmaker, director and editor living and working in London. Born and raised in Russia, Ira was for many years a member of several Russian art-activist groups and directed films that condemned state crimes, police brutality and violence against queer people. Ira was forced to flee persecution by Russian authorities and claim political asylum in the UK in 2013. Since then, they continued to both direct and edit a body of work that explores themes of – among others – gender, poverty, migration, belonging and queerness. Ira was selected to participate in Grierson DocLab’s Editing Scheme and has worked as assistant editor and editor on high-end Netflix, Channel 4, ITV, and Sky documentaries. Ira worked on CHERNOBYL: THE LOST TAPES as assistant editor which won several BAFTAs this year, whilst LOVE LANGUAGES, a Netflix short film that Ira co-edited, was long-listed for a BAFTA, also in 2023. Alongside their debut documentary feature LOOK AT ME AND THEN UP, Ira has just finished BENDER DEFENDERS, a short documentary about members of a queer Muay Thai club in East London, which won the 2023 Iris Prize.
Details
| Released: | 2024 |
| Runtime: | 25 Mins |
| Director: | Ira Putilova |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Writer: | Ira Putilova |
| Producer: | Milo Beyts |