Redbelt is a mixed martial arts film written and directed by David Mamet. The movie is about a Jiu-Jitsu master named Mike Kelly who gives up his professional fighting career to run a self-defense studio in West Los Angeles. After being conned, he is forced to get back into the ring to defend his honor, and save his business.
Several well-known mixed martial arts figures are featured in the movie, including jiu-jitsu masters John Machado and Renato Magno, along with UFC champ Randy Couture. Magno has taught director Mamet jiu-jitsu for the past several years.
Mamet, an accomplished jiu-jitsu practicioner and a purple belt, has said mixed marital arts offers "a vision of the possibility of correct, moral behavior in all circumstances."
Redbelt premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Fast Facts:
- Release date: May 9, 2008
- Writer/Director: David Mamet
- Producer: Chrisann Verges
- Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Emily Mortimer, Alice Braga, Rodrigo Santoro, Joe Mantegna, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay and John Machado
- MPAA Rating: R
- Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
- Run time: 99 minutes
- 2008 premiere: Tribeca Film Festival
Quotes: David Mamet: "What I’m trying to do throughout the movie is show, fight by fight, the different ways in which today in Hollywood these actual guys use jiu-jitsu. The cops use it, the bouncers use it, the special forces use it. So there are different fights about how it would be applied in each of these situations."
Tribeca Film Festival Facts:
- Festival founded by Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal in 2002
- April 23-May 4, 2008
- Downtown Manhattan
- Redbelt Premiere Date: Friday, Apr 25, 6:30PM, BMCC Tribeca PAC and Sunday, April 27, 6:30PM, AMC Village VII Theater 3
