HAMILL Breakthrough

We have all seen the sports film about overcoming adversity. HAMILL, a true story based on the life of UFC fighter Matt Hamill and directed by newcomer Oren Kaplan, is not your typical sports film. Matt Hamill grew up deaf in Loveland, Ohio. Matt’s journey to winning a National Collegiate wrestling title is marked with the struggle of being different in a hearing world, the determination to be a champion and finally the acceptance of a deaf community that allows him to be himself. Kaplan captures the experience of deafness so vividly that, in essence, this is a foreign-language film, told in American Sign Language. Russell Harvard plays Matt with both his heart and frustration on his sleeve and Shoshannah Stern gives a vibrant performance as Matt’s deaf activist girlfriend. This is definitely a team of filmmakers to watch.