Halle Berry director and star 'Bruised' premiered Sep 12 at TIFF 2020

​#TIFF; #45thTorontoInternationalFilmFestival; #TIFF2020; #HalleBerry; #Bruised

Toronto, Sep 12 (Canadian-Media): 45th International Film Festival (TIFF) premiered Sep 12 Halle Berry's directional debut 'Bruised' online at Bell Digital Cinema as well as Visa Skyline Drive-In at CityView, Toronto.

Image: Bruised. Image credit: TIFF

While making her directional debut in 'Bruised,' Halle Berry also stars as a washed-up MMA fighter struggling to regain custody of her son and restart her athletic career.

Jackie “Justice” (Berry) has been working multiple jobs and barely making enough money after she lost an important match years ago.

When tricked by her boyfriend, Desi (Adan Canto), into an underground fight, she regains her passion for the sport and realizes she would have to fight to reclaim her six-year-old son Manny and an MMA title.

In the end, she emerges victorious in having her son she once abandoned dropped off at her doorstep.

Unfolding against the New Jersey background, Bruised fascinates and captivates viewers in the world of MMA fighting and title-match preparations.

Jackie’s arduous journey, in her training sessions and matches to get back into her best shape in order to compete with younger opponents, is shot with a rejuvenating intensity.

Academy Award winner, Berry has been supported by an amazing cast, including  Shamier Anderson (Torontonian and 2019 TIFF Rising Star alumnus) as the encouraging MMA league owner and Sheila Atim in a breakout performance as the enigmatic trainer Bobbi “Buddhakan” Berroa. 

In her classical redemption story, 'Bruised' with her rage and heart-rending vulnerability radiating through her stormy and violent performance, Berry fabricates a portrait of a woman defined by her fight-or-flight reactions to the challenges to which her life has been exposed.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)