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A Film by Mark Andrew Altschul

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Synopsis

​In this modern, coming of age documentary, Naomi, Jojo and Arham grapple with economic divides, gender roles, and family dynamics while competing in the fastest growing high school sport in the country: women’s wrestling.

ALL AMERICAN follows the lives of three immigrant and first-generation high school women wrestlers, who train and compete against both boys and girls, as their devoted coaches prepare them for competition and lives beyond high school. Family dynamics, economics and gender roles collide in this underdog story of community and found family. Personal evolution and transformation are forged through challenges encountered on and off the mat over 5 years of filmmaking, high school and eventually, college wrestling. Bound together by the perspectives of veteran women wrestlers, ALL AMERICAN maintains an inspiring tone while confronting tough realities of trailblazing female athletes and American immigrant families.

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Gallery

Filmmakers

Mark Andrew Altschul

Director / Producer / Cinematographer

Mark Andrew, photographer, cinematographer, and director has made a career producing honest and powerful images of the everyday. He has partnered with leading advertising and branding agencies along with clients directly to create award winning campaigns and content. A few select clients include the New York Times, Pepsi, NFL, Sony, Adidas, Nike, Microsoft, Samsung and Aeromexico. His film projects have been shown at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. His photography work has been exhibited both here and abroad. His work is in multiple private collections as well as held by museums. He currently resides in Brooklyn with his wife and son, but his hometown of New Orleans is always in his heart. All American is his debut film.

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Trish Dalton

Consulting Producer

Trish Dalton is an award-winning independent director/producer. With a focus on social issues and the arts, several of her documentaries have been used as tools for change. Trish was named one of People magazine’s ten “Women Changing the World in 2020” for directing the HBO Sports documentary Student Athlete and encouraging legislative change at the federal and state level to protect college athlete’s rights. Her film credits include Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge, Student Athlete, Election Year, Bordering on Treason, Southmost U.S.A., One Night Stand, , and Keras & Mantis. Her documentaries have broadcast on PBS, HBO and Ovation after screening at dozens of film festivals, including: SXSW, Miami, Boston Independent, Denver Starz, Nashville, True/False, DOC NYC, Full Frame, and Tribeca. She is directing two feature films that will be released on Hulu in 2024.

Evan Murphy Johnson

Editor / Co-Producer

Evan M. Johnson has dedicated the last decade-plus to various documentary films, initially as an assistant editor for HBO’s Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All and Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge. He helped craft Hulu’s And We Go Green, a film about electric-racecar drivers, PBS’s The Oratorio, Martin Scorsese’s “love letter to music,” and Disney’s Afterward, which follows an Israeli-American psychoanalyst as she probes the traumas of the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Before All American, he produced and edited Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between, which won the Audience Award at the 2023 DocNYC Film Festival. In 2024, he founded BioPic Studios

Maureen Hoban

Co Producer

Maureen Hoban is a writer/producer of news and documentaries for over two decades. Through social interest programming, she puts the spotlight on underserved subjects, from the effect of porn and technology on our culture (Netflix’s Hot Girls Wanted) to the experiences of the chronically ill (Netflix’s Afflicted) to the lives of addicts and alcoholics across America (A&E’s Intervention.)Her experience includes arc-ed docuseries, anthologies, informational programming and intimate verite, all with the goal of spreading compassion and understanding in the culture through the exploration of complex subject matter. Her work has been featured on HBO, Netflix, Amazon, NBC, TNT and A&E, has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won PRISM, Vision and Emmy Awards.

Kyra Tirana Barry

Contributing Producer

Kyra Tirana Barry is a passionate leader and tireless advocate for girls, women and underserved communities in sport focusing on wrestling and soccer. Kyra is currently the chair of the Committee to Advance Women’s Wrestling, which brings together all major wrestling stakeholders to support growth, a member of D1 Women’s Wrestling, promoting the growth of NCAA varsity programs, and the Chair of the NY State Task Force on Girls Wrestling.  Kyra was Team Leader for the 2016 USA Women's Wrestling Olympic Team and was USA Wrestling’s Woman of the Year in 2015. Kyra spent over a decade promoting sports-based youth development for underserved communities as the President of Beat the Streets New York; and, as founding Chair of Beat the Streets National, which brings together all US BTS city programs to elevate the mission and expand the reach; and continues today as a member of the US Soccer Foundation Board and co-chair of the Foundation's NY Leadership Council. 

Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach

Composer

Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach is an award winning composer, mixer and sound designer. He owns the post production company IMRSV Sound, and has expanded the company nationally, taking over Berkeley Sound Artists. Jacob now oversees 100 projects per year for clients like A24, Marvel, Google, and Apple. He recently composed the score for the TV Series Perfect Sweat, and sound designed the Emmy Award winning film Krimes. He was also the designer and mixer for the A24/Apple film Stephen Curry: Underrated, and was the Supervisor for the Sundance Award winning film, Crip Camp, which was released by Netflix and the Obama's, and nominated for an Academy Award.

Amelie Chabannes

Animator

Amelie Chabannes is a French American artist who works in Drawing, Painting, and Animation Film. She is the main artist on the PBS American Masters artistically animated film series Unladylike2020 Season 1, 26 first episodes on diverse and little-known, Historical American heroines which has received over 6 million views to date. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally and is held in many private collections and museums. Chabannes currently lives and works in between Brooklyn, NY and Paris, France. Chabannes is currently working on two new film series and on a large visual art project funded by private contemporary art collections.

Director's Statement

As the traditional gender roles and societal expectations of our culture continue to evolve, this film hopes to shine a light on an emerging sport, women's wrestling, and the remarkable young women who compete in it. Several years ago, I discovered a non-profit organization dedicated to providing access to the sport of wrestling for underserved high school students in New York City. As a former high school wrestler, I’d always perceived wrestling to be a male-dominated sport, so seeing young girls on the wrestling mat was a disconnect. Witnessing these young women fearlessly grapple their opponents, with unwavering determination, made me realize that their story needed to be told. The girls featured in the film, many of whom were immigrants, also faced pressure from multiple directions, from typical school-age stressors to economic inequality, or a conservative religious upbringing. Over the course of filming, I found they exemplified strength, resilience and composure in the face of these challenges, both in their home lives and on the mat. My intention was to capture my admiration for these young athletes and the growth of the sport. As a male director sharing their stories, it was imperative that the film include a diverse range of female collaborators. In that spirit, I worked closely with veteran female producers, writers and consultants, to ensure an authentic and multifaceted portrayal of these young women's lives. I’ve aligned with leaders and legends in women's wrestling who have become a part of the filmmaking process and the life of the project. In celebrating these resilient young women, my hope is to inspire a future where every student, regardless of gender, is given equal opportunity and support in their athletic ambitions.

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© Harper Films LLC   Brooklyn, New York 11231

“All American is a sponsored project of The Gotham (www.thegotham.org)”

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