Israel Adesanya documentary 'Stylebender' to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in a scene from the documentary, "Stylebender," which makes it premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Credit: Frank Publicity
Israel Adesanya has shown he can fight. He's shown he can dance. And he's shown he can command an audience.
This time, though, that audience will be sitting in a theater in front of the big screen watching the UFC middleweight champion's career unfold. Adesanya is the subject of a documentary entitled "Stylebender" (an ode to his fighting nickname "The Last Stylebender") that makes its premiere Sunday at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Directed by Zoe McIntosh, the documentary claims to be "an intimate exploration of immigrant struggle, mental health, and the healing power of dance" as it chronicles the Nigerian-born, New Zealand-raised Adesanya from before he first won the UFC middleweight title in 2019. Adesanya won by unanimous decision over Kelvin Gastelum in April 2019 to become the interim champion, then unified the title with a second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker six months later.
“My goal was always to get under the gloss and hype to unlock the poetry, emotion and contradictions inherent in Israel,” McIntosh told the New Zealand Film Commission. “I wanted to make a film that spoke not only to MMA fans, but to a wider audience who would connect with Israel’s authenticity and the importance of being your own ‘freaky’ self."
IMDb.com's plot summary for "Stylebender" says the film "follows a boy fighting to become the man he was destined to be. Will he find something to fight for, or will he become what he hates the most?"
Tribeca's website calls it a "fascinating portrait of the modern athlete, charismatic and complex in equal measure."
Adesanya lost his middleweight title via fifth-round TKO to Alex Pereira last November at Madison Square Garden. Afterward, he embraced the loss, gave credit to his opponent and spoke openly and honestly and without excuses about fight, not the typical approach of most fighters.
Adesanya regained his title last April at UFC 287 when he knocked out Pereira in the second round.
'Stylebender' showtimes at Tribeca Film Festival
- Sunday, June 11, 8:15 p.m. at Village East Cinema (world premiere)
- Monday, June 12, 8:15 p.m. at AMC 19th St. East 6
- Wednesday, June 14, 5:15 p.m. at AMC 19th St. East 6
For those unable to make it to a screening in New York City, the festival also now offers an At-Home option from June 19-July 2.
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
