Make Believe Media is in the lucky position of capitalizing on the popularity of Oscar-nominated feature The Wrestler with its new docusoap This Wrestling Life. Lynn Booth, president of the Vancouver shop and coproducer of the project, touts it as a ‘fun, feel-good doc about a group of people who have it rough.’

The docusoap is set in Surrey, BC, not an easy place to grow up. A group of young people have enrolled in a wrestling training school called the Slam Academy, which, according to Booth, is basically a wrestling ring in the middle of a warehouse. Scotty Mac, a well-known wrestler in Western Canada, is the lead character. As a teacher at the academy, his lessons include developing wrestling personas, training five days a week and creating costumes. Five students are followed over the course of a year, sharing their dreams of entertaining and making it into the ring. Booth says the docusoap also deals with topics of bigotry and chauvinism in a humanistic environment.

‘The most exciting young person in the academy is Travis, who is just turning 18 and graduating high school,’ she says. ‘His big struggle is giving up his job at A&W and committing to this wrestling life.’

The docusoap is directed by first-time helmer Stephen Gillis and is available as a 6 x 30 series or as a 90-minute feature, currently in post-production and to be delivered in the fall. The feature has been presold to Superchannel, and both it and the series version are going to MIPTV in April.

From Realscreen Daily