“When I was a kid, I wasn’t aware that women didn’t box,” says Nicola Adams in the trailer for “Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story.” She wasn’t shielded from sexism in the sport for long. We’re told that “the majority of coaches won’t allow girls in the gym,” and Adams was “called ‘a monster, a freak, [and] a sicko.’” Despite having “so many people” telling her she’d never be a boxer, she didn’t lose sight of her goal. “I’ll show you what I can do,” she recalls thinking.
Helena Coan’s documentary revisits how the trailblazer became the first woman ever to win an Olympic Gold medal for boxing back at the London 2012 games. In Rio 2016, she topped the podium once again.
“A Black, gay, working class girl from a council estate fighting in a sport which didn’t accept women — how did Nicola overcome the odds stacked against her and make history?” the film’s synopsis asks.
“I knew that I was fighting for more than myself,” Adams says in the spot. “I’ve had to deal with a lot of criticism as a female boxer. I knew their limitations weren’t mine. I just didn’t want them to project a future onto me.”
Coan’s other credits include “Audrey” and “Chasing Perfect.” She is set to direct a biopic about Adams, “Hear Me Roar,” for Lionsgate.
“Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story” lands on VOD April 5.
Source: Women And Hollywood
