BALESTRA Trailer (2024) Cush Jumbo, Fencing Movie

BALESTRA Trailer (2024) Cush Jumbo, Fencing Movie

BALESTRA Trailer (2024) Cush Jumbo, Drama, Fencing, Sport Movie
© 2024 - Elevation Pictures
Nicole Dorsey's upcoming film Balestra promises a psychological thriller exploring the inner fears and hopes of its subject, in the works since 2020.
The filming of Balestra, a sports drama following fencing champion Joanna, has wrapped with some cast changes and a gripping storyline.
The movie features a talented cast including Cush Jumbo, Manny Jacinto, James Badge Dale, and Christin Park in lead roles.
Balestra is an upcoming film from director Nicole Dorsey and though news has been sporadic, the story, some of the cast, and the shooting schedule have all been announced. Dorsey is an up-and-coming Canadian film director who has previously directed several shorts, followed by her first feature-length movie, Black Conflux in 2019, a drama about a young teen's quest for independence leading her into the orbit of a strange and possibly violent older man. This was then followed by Dorsey directing three episodes of the Canadian thriller series, Something Undone.

Like Dorsey's previous film, Balestra promises to be a philosophical and psychological thriller that explores the inner fears and hopes of its subject. The film has been a long time coming, originally announced as far back as 2020. Since then, there have been some notable changes regarding casting, but according to the director, the film is still a go, despite production primarily occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. News about Balestra has been slow to arrive, but there have been notable announcements regarding the cast and story.

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Balestra Film Latest News
Jackie Dunphy (Ella Ballentine) leaning agaisnt a wall and looking annoyed in Black Conflux
The latest news about Balestra can be found on Nicole Dorsey's website, Nicole Dorsey, from a blog post dated April 13, 2022. In the post, Dorsey announces that filming has wrapped on Balestra and some information regarding the story and cast is given. Dorsey also has a quote,

"Balestra is a thriller. A psychological nightmare; a dream in which you’re trying to run but your legs won’t budge. It’s about greatness — its perceived value and the thought that without it, you have nothing, you are nothing."

Balestra Film Is Confirmed
Jackie Dunphy (Ella Ballentine) and Donovan's (Luke Bilykin) head mirroring each other on the cover of Black Conflux
Balestra was originally confirmed in June 2020 (via Deadline), with Thor and Westworld star Tessa Thompson and Marwan Kenzari of Aladdin set to star, and Thompson also serving as an executive producer. Those acting choices have since changed. In April 2022, Dorsey announced that filming had wrapped on the movie, though a release date is still forthcoming.

Balestra Film Cast

While Thompson and Kenzari were originally set to appear in Balestra, they left the project sometime in the interim. At the moment, only four members of the cast have been officially unveiled. Cush Jumbo (Torchwood, The Good Wife, The Good Fight) stars as Joanna, a fencer trying to medal at the Olympics; Manny Jacinto (Nine Perfect Strangers, Top Gun: Maverick) plays Elliot, a mysterious stranger; James Badge Dale (Iron Man 3, The Pacific) appears as Raph, Joanna's husband and coach; and Christin Park (Charmed) plays Audie, Joanna's rival.

Balestra's Cast

Character

Actor

Notable Roles

Joanna

Cush Jumbo

Lucca Quinn in The Good Fight, Lois Habiba in Torchwood

Elliot

Manny Jacinto

Yao in Nine Perfect Strangers, Jason Mendoza in The Good Place

Raph

James Badge Dale

Savin in Iron Man 3, Robert Leckie in The Pacific

Audie

Christin Park

Swan in Charmed

Balestra Film Story Details
Cush Jumbo as Lucca Quinn looking serious in The Good Fight.
Balestra is a psychological sports drama that follows Joanna, a single-minded fencing champion who has quested to be the best in the world her whole life. With the Paris Olympics approaching, Joanna has one last shot to earn the gold before she ages out of the competition. Raph, a man who is coach first and husband second, pressures Joanna to undergo the experimental Halo training device system which will allow her to practice in her sleep.

Halo blurs the line between reality and dreams and when she meets the mysterious Elliot, Joanna's pursuit of the podium and her drive to figure out what's happening to her collide. "Balestra" is a fencing term referring to a jump forward towards one's opponent followed by a lunge with the foil. It's an explosive and offensive move that can throw a fencer off balance, and it's possible Joanna will find herself just as unbalanced as Balestra progresses.
EXCLUSIVE: Filming has begun in Canada on New Regency-backed fencing thriller Balestra, which will be produced as a feature with an alternate version to be released separately as a limited series.

Cush Jumbo (The Good Fight), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place) and James Badge Dale (Iron Man 3) lead cast on the project, which will follow Joanna (Jumbo), who has dedicated her life to becoming the greatest fencer in the world. With the Paris Olympics looming as her last chance to reach the top of the podium, she is pressured by her husband and coach Raph (Dale) to become a test subject for the Halo, a prototype device that lets her extend her training into her sleeping hours. Reality begins to blur when Joanna encounters a stranger named Elliot (Jacinto) and finds herself caught between her exhilarating new dreams and her pursuit of Olympic gold.

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Rounding out the cast is Christin Park (Charmed) as Audrey, Joanna’s fearless opponent and teammate in the U.S. fencing team.

Watch on Deadline
The project heralds from New Regency, Item 7 and Oddfellows Entertainment. Written by Imran Zaidi from an original idea by Aron Eli Coleite, the director is Nicole Dorsey (Black Conflux).

Backers are New Regency, Telefilm Canada, Elevation Pictures, Entract Films and the Canada, British Columbia and Quebec tax credits. World sales are handled by New Regency, while Elevation Pictures and Entract Films will distribute in Canada.

Producers are Pierre Even and Paul-E. Audet for Item 7 and Chris Ferguson. Jesse Savath is executive producer for Oddfellows. Cush Jumbo, Nicole Dorsey, Imran Zaidi and Aron Eli Coleite are also executive producers alongside Automatik, Elevation, Entract, New Regency and QCode.

Jumbo, who has the lead role, most recently starred in Harlen Coben’s Stay Close on Netflix. Jacinto, who recently starred in Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers, can currently be seen starring in Amazon’s rom-com I Want You Back and will next be seen in Top Gun: Maverick. Dale is known for playing Ray Abruzzo in Hightown alongside roles in The Pacific, 24 and Ironman.

Said Dorsey said: “Balestra is a thriller. A psychological nightmare; a dream in which you’re trying to run but your legs won’t budge. It’s about greatness — its perceived value and the thought that without it, you have nothing, you are nothing.”

Added Jumbo: “I am thrilled to be venturing into the intense and world of Balestra with Nicole and the team. The combination of high-octane sport and bent lines of reality making it a truly thrilling experience to shoot and I know audiences are going to love it.”

Dorsey teams up with Marie Davignon as director of photography, Caitlin Byrnes as production designer, Brooke Wilcox and Sekyiwa Wi-Afedzi as costume designer and Veronique Barbe as editor.

Dorsey, Zaidi and Coleite are all represented by Grandview. Dorsey is also represented by CAA, Zaidi by UTA and Coleite by WME. Jumbo is represented by Anonymous Content and Curtis Brown, Jacinto by CAA and Alchemy Entertainment and Principals Talent & McKuin Frankel, and Dale by CAA and MJ Management.

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BREAKING NEWS
CUSH JUMBO
JAMES BADGE DALE
MANNY JACINTO
NEW REGENCY
Cush Jumbo, Manny Jacinto, and James Badge Dale are about to join the world of fencing. According to an exclusive from Deadline, the three have been cast in the upcoming thriller Balestra.

Balestra is being created as both a film and a limited series. The project will tell the story of Joanna (played by Jumbo), who is a competitive fencer. As the Paris Olympics gets closer, her husband and coach (played by Dale), pressures her to be a test subject for a device that will allow her to continue to train during the time she's supposed to be asleep. She later meets a stranger (played by Jacinto) which leads to her reality beginning to blur.

Jumbo is well known for playing Lucca Quinn in CBS' The Good Wife and its spin-off The Good Fight. Her other previous work includes 2020's The Postcard Killings (directed by Danis Tanovic), 2016's City of Tiny Lights (directed by Pete Travis), and 2015's Remainder (directed by Omer Fast). Jacinto is well known for playing Jason Mendoza in The Good Place (which ran from 2016-2020 on NBC). His other previous work includes this year's I Want You Back (directed by Jason Orley) and the English dub of Belle (directed by Mamoru Hosoda). He will also star in the upcoming film Top Gun: Maverick (directed by Joseph Kosinski). Dale's previous work includes 2020's Safety (directed by Reginald Hudlin), The Empty Man (directed by David Prior), and 2019's The Kitchen (directed by Andrea Berloff). Christin Park will also star as Audrey. The character is Joanna's opponent and teammate on the fencing team.

nine-perfect-strangers-manny-jacinto-1Image via Hulu
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Nicole Dorsey will direct the project. She previously directed 2019's Black Conflux. "Balestra is a thriller. A psychological nightmare; a dream in which you're trying to run but your legs won't budge," said Dorsey. "It's about greatness - its perceived value and the thought that without it, you have nothing, you are nothing." Dorsey will also be an executive producer. Imran Zaidi wrote the screenplay, which is based on an original idea from Aron Eli Coleite. Zaidi and Coleite will also be executive producers. New Regency, Item 7, and Oddfellows Entertainment will produce the project. Pierre Even, Item 7's Paul-E Audet, and Chris Ferguson will be producers. Oddfellows Entertainment's Jesse Savath will be an executive producer. Jumbo will also be an executive producer. "I am thrilled to be venturing into the intense and world of Balestra with Nicole and the team," said Jumbo. "The combination of high-octane sport and bent lines of reality making it a truly thrilling experience to shoot and I know audiences are going to love it."

No official release date has been announced for Balestra. The project is currently being filmed in Canada.

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