Luchadoras

Ciudad Juárez in Mexico is known as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, especially if you are a woman. Young women are raped, killed or kidnapped on almost a daily basis, and the town is wallpapered with posters of abducted girls.

To protect themselves, build self-confidence, and as an escape from reality, more and more girls and ladies in the city have taken up wrestling. And we mean the full package: Colourful masks, powerful costumes, and bad ass fighting. We follow Lady Candy, Baby Star and Mini Sirentia in their wrestling careers while also gaining a powerful insight into life as a woman in the deadly city outside of the wrestling ring.

This is a documentary that will engage your full range of emotions, and it is guaranteed to be both a talking point and a thought provoker to many.

Kathinka Wang

Director

Paola Calvo (b. 1981) is a Venezuelan director and cinematographer, who has collaborated with German director and cinematographer Patrick Jasim on Luchadoras. Calvo and Jasim have both studied and worked with film in Berlin. Luchadoras premiered at SXSW this year and it won both the Audience Award, the Jury Award and the FIPRESCI Award at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival in 2021.

This film is part of