The main character of our story seeks to find his place in the world and live out his dreams. As young filmmakers, we totally relate. Holding onto such illusive dreams is the essence of American psychology. We strive to tell stories of empathy and determination in the face of insurmountable odds.

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BRENDON MACKIE (aka The Camaro Kid) is a seventeen-year-old wannabe-wrestler who dreams of going pro. But life has gotten in the way. He lacks a real job. His mom is selling his childhood home to move in with her boyfriend, and Brendon must find new accommodations. Worst of all, not a single promotion will return his calls for a shot. His only training to this point has been horsing around in the backyard: practicing powerbombs, talking smack, and videotaping his infamous finishing move - “the Camaro Crash.” 

On the day of Brendon’s job interview at a local car dealership, a promoter calls him to offer a match at a local regional wrestling federation. Though this is only a one-night offer, Brendon considers it the chance of a lifetime. He leaves the dealership, blowing the interview and dismantling his most important friendship to get to the ring. But before Brendon even has his moment to shine, his opportunity is cut short. Disappointed and depressed, Brendon returns home. The next day, Brendon looks for a new job opportunity, wondering where life will lead him next.

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Choke Hold was born out of my love of wrestling. As a young boy, I watched WWE every week. I was mesmerized by the world, the characters, the storylines. It had a hold on me like nothing else, and my devotion was near-religious. In fact, while a lot of people scoff at wrestling because it’s “fake,” for those of us who need it most, wrestling has never been about fake fighting but about hope. The wrestling arena is like a cathedral where parishioners watch David take on Goliath - the good “babyface” versus the evil “heel.” When I began befriending kids involved in backyard wrestling (an often dangerous environment where kids emulate the pros by power bombing each other on trampolines and old mattresses), I found that the ring provided an ironic form of safety and security from a world of drug-addicted parents, bullying, poverty, and racism. While there’s so much strife in the world, in the ring, the American Dream is possible. 

I’m excited to bring this story to the screen in an attempt to portray the world of wrestling as magically, honestly, and empathetically as possible.  The world of wrestling is a deeply rich one - one that says a lot about where we are as a people and who we are as a country.

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Wrestling combines incredibly raw energy with theatrical panache. Combining an often docu-style camera language with specific moments of composed tableau-like frames, we hope to create a film that echoes wrestling’s dynamic. Shattered windows, waving flags, grappling bodies, the cold steel coils on a trampoline, the sea of tin roofs in a car lot - we’re excited to shoot these images and bring the visual richness of these worlds to our audience.

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We’ve decided to shoot Choke Hold in North Carolina - a bastion of the indie wrestling scene. Partnering with some incredibly talented performers and promoters who have first-hand experience living Brendon’s life, I hope that we’ll be able to tell the most honest and empathetic story possible.

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Once the film is complete, we plan to submit it to major international film festivals before distributing the film online to a wider audience. We also hope to develop the project into a feature length film. Crafting Brendon's story and the researching the world of 'Choke Hold' has made us realize that there's so much more to explore than we could possibly fit into a short film. We plan to use this short as a proof-of-concept for future investors and to gain interest in our feature-length script.

 

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Making films at any moment is a challenge, but the COVID 19 pandemic pushes that challenge to a new extreme. The production of this film was previously interrupted by COVID 19, and we are so excited to finally be able to carry on with production, but we are moving forward carefully and cautiously.

With a priority on safety, we will adhere to the North Carolina county guidelines to keep all members of our team safe on set. The current guidelines state that the NC Department of Public Health has stated in their most recent update to the Health Officer Order that masks must be worn at all times when indoors in public settings, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status. For productions, this means that when filming interior scenes, all cast and crew must wear a mask except when absolutely necessary to perform a task that cannot feasibly be done while wearing one. Much of the filming taking place in North Carolina continues to be subject to specific, industry-developed workplace safety rules. Those rules remain in effect until renewed and/or replaced. If the rules change, we will update our own set protocols as well.

 

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DIRECTOR - Max McGillivray is a filmmaker and actor hailing from Massachusetts. Max discovered ethnographic filmmaking in the Visual and Environmental Studies program at Harvard and has since cultivated an interest in both film and American History. These disciplines brought Max to work as a researcher with Errol Morris on his six part series, Wormwood, and subsequently with James Schamus and Athina Tsangari. Max has taught filmmaking at Harvard as well as filmmaking and film studies to undergraduates at Columbia. Max is a recent recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Screenplay Grant for his script Bag Lady. He’s in development on several personal projects and has directed commercially for brands like Coca Cola. 

PRODUCER - Chidi Amadiume is a Nigerian Producer and Photographer based in New York where he currently attends Columbia University pursuing an MFA in Creative Producing. His work addresses LGBTQ themes, Migration, and identity through comedy and tragedy. Born in Nigeria, but raised everywhere but, Chidi moved to New York in 2012 to pursue a degree in Biology at SUNY Plattsburgh before moving to New York City to work in cancer research. He left the field in 2018 to pursue film, one of his other passions. He hopes to make films that move people to thought - especially in his home country - around issues of social justice and LGBTQ liberation. His film Are We Here Yet? is an official selection of aGliff, Inside Out Toronto LGBTQ Festival and Newfest.

PRODUCER - Patrick Nichols is a film producer and editor living in New York City where he is pursuing an MFA in Creative Producing at Columbia University. Born and raised in North Carolina, he has worked all over the world as a videographer for musical acts John Mayer and Walk The Moon. As an Editor and Assistant Editor, Patrick has crafted videos for clients such as Apple Music, Major League Soccer, and PBS North Carolina. In addition to this work, he's produced several short films, including Ixanoculation, which received a Professional Development grant from the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County and premiered at the 2020 RiverRun International Film Festival before screening at virtual film festivals in the U.S. and internationally. As an MFA candidate at Columbia, Patrick was accepted into the 2021 Sloan Production Mentorship Program and is a recipient of The 2021 Michael Hausman/Filmhaus Foundation Award. He is currently in post production on the short film Good Dog, which received support from the Sarah Jones Film Student Safety Grant Program and will be completed in Spring 2022.

CINEMATOGRAPHER - David Bolen is an award-winning cinematographer based out of Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his international work on feature films, television and documentaries. David was cinematographer for the award-winning feature documentary "Some Kind of Heaven" which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim. It was produced by Darren Arronofsky and acquired by Hulu for streaming.