Bending Steel originally began as a short film idea pitched during an inaugural meeting of a new film collective that myself and two other colleagues had started. The story was super unique and intriguing: a 43 year-old introverted Queens native addresses his crippling inhibitions and self-imposed limitations by training to be a Coney Island strongman, bending steel horseshoes and nails as if they were putty. Crazy!
Not long after we began shooting with our main subject Chris Schoeck, it morphed into what would be our first feature film. After a swift 2 years of production with a very small but talented group of friends, the film saw it's world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013. It went on to screen at festivals worldwide, and was broadcast on DirecTV in 2015. The film can now be streamed or downloaded from iTunes, Amazon, and Vimeo on Demand.
BENDING STEEL
Feature Documentary
Producer / Writer / Director of Photography
AWARDS:
Spotlight Award, 2014 Cinema Eye Honors Nominee
Best Documentary Feature, Best in Show, 2014 Fargo Film Festival
Best Documentary Feature, 2014 Oxford Film Festival
Best Debut Director, 2013 Tribeca Film Festival Nominee
Emerging Cinematic Vision Award, Audience Award, 2013 Camden Film Festival:
Audience Award, 2013 Key West Film Festival
FESTIVALS:
Tribeca Film Festival (World Premiere), Hot Docs (International Premiere), Belfast Film Festival, Rooftop Film Series, Sidewalk Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, Camden International Film Festival, Kansas International Film Festival, Bend Film Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Festival, Indie Memphis Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, Key West Film Festival, Doc Yard Series, Sebastopol Documentary Festival, Oxford Film Festival, Eastern Oregon Film Festival, Treefort Film Festival
PRESS:
The Hollywood Reporter says Bending Steel has the "hold-your-breath drama of a fine sports film."
The Wall Street Journal calls it "surprisingly emotional"
And Indiewire says "you’re not likely to see a more inspiring documentary this year."