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‘Backspot’ Director D.W. Waterson On Grueling Determination And Inspirations Behind Queer Cheerleading Film
D.W. Waterson’s cheer drama Backspot, also produced by Elliot Page under Page Boy Productions, aims to tell a more well-rounded and ambitious story about the seemingly glamorous but occupationally hazardous world of competitive cheerleading. The film follows Riley (Devery Jacobs), an ambitious cheerleader hell-bent on perfection, as she, alongside her girlfriend (Kudakwashe Rutendo) and their best friend (Noa DiBertro), land highly competitive spots on a prestigious all-star cheerleading squad led by an overbearing head coach (Evan Rachel Wood) and her presiding assistant coach Thomas Antony Olajide). The film acts as a multi-hyphenate social commentary on queerness, mental health and coming-of-age tale for young women in sports.