"We created Toni together (with Royalty) and brought her to life; we made her a dreamer, a champion, and a witness to something invisible." Anna Rose Holmer (Director)
A vivacious film about growing up, fitting in and discovering your own gust of wind.
Toni, 11, is doing her sit-ups next to a boxing ring in the community center. Her concentration is absolute. She's eager and a natural, the only girl among the boys. Two floors up, the Lionesses are practicing their moves. They're fluid, and together – It's a world of frisky teenage girls. As Toni watches them practice, she feels a little tense: her goal is to dance with them. She begins to attend boxing practice, as well as dancing with the Lionesses. She's tough enough to pierce her own ears. When the Lionesses start to be struck by fits, this coming-of-age story turns into fantasy. Eventually all the girls experience these fits in their own unique form and intensity. No one knows why, but it appears they are not unwelcome. The Fits talks with body language rather than words; it focuses on the movements, yearnings and energies of bodies. Then again, with its breathtaking final scene, it proves body and soul are inseparable.
2015 VENICE, 2016 SEATTLE, NASHVILLE, CLEVELAND, SAN FRANCISCO
Anna Rose Holmer works as a director, producer, and camerawoman on documentary, narrative, commercial, and experimental content. She was selected as one of Filmmaker Magazine's '25 New Faces of Independent Film' in 2015. Her narrative directorial debut film, The Fits premiered at the 72nd Venice Film Festival in September 2015.
