Filmmakers Michael Abelson and Brandon Lavoie are seeking up to $30,000 through IndieGogo to help finish “It Hurts To Win”, their feature length documentary exploring the emotional fallout during what is scheduled to be the final year of Boston University’s wrestling program.
The university announced in April 2013 that the current 2013-14 season would be the last for the 45-year-old Division 1 team, citing “budget constraints, nationwide shifts in conference affiliation and the team’s performance” as causes for the program’s termination.
But Abelson and Lavoie know college athletics are more than just perfect opportunities to watch men in lycra manhandle each other—they’re a way of life for the students taking part in them. That’s why this week, a new trailer has been released as an informal teaser to prove just how potentially important this film could be. “This is an emotional story of loss, brotherhood, and perseverance in the face of adversity,” the duo writes on IndieGogo:
Our goal is that the audience will leave this film with a better understanding of who is affected when a collegiate athletics program is cut, and the emotional toll it takes on all of the individuals involved,” the filmmakers said on their fundraising page. “Especially with a sport like wrestling, the loss of a program is much more than a small brief in the sports section; it’s the loss of a passion.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Footage from the new trailer below was shot during the current season with donations previously raised online. Abelson and Lavoie are seeking the additional $30K to help wrap up the project, pay for an original score and polish the final product.
Visit IndieGogo to see what kind of swag you can score for donating and check the film’s progress on Facebook and Twitter.
domen8r
“and the team’s performance”?!?! what kind of educator puts on a student-athlete’s psyche that the team’s record contributed to the cancellation of the program? even if that sentence was crafted by the school’s public relations office, someone was not proofreading/editing well.
domen8r
commenting again since the Queerty function doesn’t let you decide AFTER posting that you’d like follow-up comments sent to your e-mail…i wonder what the school’s “big money” sports like football and basketball (men’s) records look like? it would be highly ironic (and telling) if the documentarians could raise more money to chronicle the team than the physical education department/development offices could to keep them wrestling
litper
Wrestling is so homoerotic!
JohnnyCorby
I’ll donate $500 if I can get a used singlet and a shirtless Skype session with two wrestlers of my choice.