Thursday, June 11th at 7 PM

Central Cinema
1411 21st Avenue Seattle
Seattle, WA

Synopsis: Jeff Bourgeois: a former marine and family man who works full time as a tele-communications technician. Coby Parmenter: an award winning Judo player with a troubled past. Josh Calvo: a disaffected young man looking for his path in life. These three men discover and reveal the fabric of their personalities through the rigorous training for Mixed Martial Arts competition. Jeff is 36 years old and enjoys his time mentoring those who want to train. He muses on life, his family, his relationship with God, and what it means to live a life dedicated to MMA. Coby is 30 years old with a dream to be a professional fighter. After sustaining a serious injury in a fight that went to a draw, he wonders if he will be able to rebound and still make a life for himself and his girlfriend while traversing the Pac NW MMA circuit. Josh Calvo is 19, a gifted young hopefull looking to Jeff and other veterans for inspiration and guidance, but can he live up to his expectations and those of his mentors? Walking to the Cage takes an in depth look at the therapeutic and often times personally liberating effects of combat sports through these three men, as well as the technical intricacies of this intense and emerging sport.

More info can be found at

stiff.bside.com/2009/films/walkingtothecage_stiff2009

or at myspace.com/chokeproductions

The statement below is from Director Matthew Hickney...

Directors Statement
Category: Life
Orsen Welles said, "The ultimate enemy of art is the absence of limitations", I agree. In November 2006, I began shooting "Walking to the Cage" with nothing more than an idea, my 24p DV camera and a fundamental drive to create cinema. I wanted to make this documentary because I've always felt that the best non-fiction films tackle subjects that can't be fully understood on their first look. Though they may appear crude, unorthodox, or easily maligned and labeled, upon further examination they reveal deeper truths and provide greater reflections on life.

I believe we as people are interested in self-discovery through exploration of human truths that frighten, shake and compel us. When we become the audience, we open ourselves up to the possibilities of discovery and understanding. Mixed Martial Arts is an easily misunderstood phenomenon, brutal and savage indeed. But I believe by looking at the human component of this sport, it becomes clear there is a craft, passion and purity to this.

In a world where professional athletes often go from team to team demanding millions of dollars, ridiculous amenities to contracts and the lavish attention of psychopathic clingers-on, these guys compete for pure love of the game. Although even top UFC champions rarely make over 500,000 a fight, nowhere is this passion more evident then on the amateur level, where no athlete is compensated financially for their effort.

Having my own experiences with training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I thought there was a spiritual dimension to combat sports that was not being accessed or understood from the outside. I wanted to share with others the real experience of it all. I knew that by really looking at who these guys are, and watching their experience unfold, it would cast a humanity and sincerity upon Mixed Martial Arts that can be easy to miss.

I hope you will enjoy this film and all the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. Both behind and in front of the camera. This has truly been a labor of love, and it has been an enormously growing experience to bring it into existence.

Thank you to all my friends who supported me over the last two years. To those who helped me (you know who you are), I truly cannot say enough. I love you all.

- Matthew Hickney