Scrum tells the stories of three members of the Sydney Convicts, a predominantly gay rugby team, as they prepare to compete in the 7th Annual Bingham Cup in Sydney, with 1,000 participants from 15 countries.
The gay rugby world cup is named after hero Mark Bingham, the brave player who died attempting to thwart terrorists on United Flight 93 from crashing the plane into Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. Bingham played for the gay-inclusive rugby union team San Francisco Fog RFC.
The gritty documentary, directed by Poppy Stockell, follows “Aki, the Japanese outsider who worked tirelessly for two years so he could travel to Sydney; Brennan, a hunky Canadian jock who was built for contact sports but rejected by his former, straight teammates after they discovered he was gay; and Pearse, the Irish backpacker bullied in school, tired of being continually put down,” according to a glowling review by Brian Bromberger, San Francisco Frameline39.
He adds: “Scrum pulls the viewer right into the sweaty, grueling Bingham Cup, becoming not only a dramatic competition film, but also a film that finds the heart of the sport’s universal themes: acceptance, teamwork, and mud-soaked male camaraderie.”
“You’re more than a team, you’re brothers,” a coach tells his players in the trailer for Scrum below. “So be there for your man. The pain is coming, accept it move on and stand strong. ’Cause you can claim victory and you can take defeat, but don’t ever return with regret.”
Watch a trailer for Scrum below and check out Scrum’s website for upcoming screenings or to watch the film on VOD:
Que churrazo wuaua