The Bends

Competitive fighting offers an experience of psychological intensity unlike any other. One such intensity is that the fighter's opponent could be construed to be a version of themselves; matched in size and weight, a kind of mirror image. I am fascinated by the idea that, here, it’s possible to fend off the other, and in the process, fend off oneself. In this story, Annie’s world is the regimented world of the pro-amateur circuit. But when the line between the personal seeps into the fight — it brings her to weigh a prescient and relatable question in a most unusual context. The implications for Annie’s pregnancy threaten not just her vital control, but who she is at her core. Annie’s greatest opponent becomes herself. My interest in the dramatic possibilities of the fight world led to eighteen months of research within the Melbourne amateur scene. Being alive to possibilities with our non-actor cast lends this film its truth. —Tom Campbell, Director