“Know when to pick your battles.” But, what happens when the fight picks you.
Chris Cocores (a.k.a. Coco) was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, CA, in a broken home riddled with childhood traumas. For him, street fighting was a way to cope. By age 26, Chris was the reigning MMA featherweight champion and a month away from the biggest fight of his career — the one that would take him from an amateur fighter to a professional.
That’s when tragedy struck. In a fatal car accident, Chris lost his girlfriend, his dog and nearly his life. With broken arms and legs and a broken back, he is told he will never fight again, and that he would be lucky to even walk again. But, determined to get back in the ring, Chris called his coach Ryan Wallace from his hospital bed: “I’ll get back out there, no matter what it takes.” Without skipping a beat, Ryan agrees to help him.
Momentum follows Chris’ journey of perseverance and vulnerability within the world of MMA- “the worlds fastest growing sport.”
We see Chris mourn the loss of his long time girlfriend, and the life and body he knew. We see him humbly working as a Uber driver, training during his spare time, slowly letting his body recover and gain strength. We bear witness to his intense focus and drive as he learns from Coach Ryan, who has been through a similar journey. Through Chris and Ryan’s stories, we explore the themes of community, companionship, mentorship and the power of kindness. We see first-hand the importance of a goal — how working and striving towards something can help you through even your darkest times.
Ryan Wallace is Coco’s wrestling coach. He’s also a local hero — spending his time inspiring the youth and giving back to his community. He’s a detention room teacher and the middle and high school wrestling coach. He also cleans bathrooms as a janitor, tends to his garden, drives for Uber, works security at football games and makes fishing lures. No matter the challenge, Ryan approaches life with unrelenting positivity, joy and laughter.
After a very successful wrestling career in high school, Ryan discovered he had a rare form of bone cancer, which led to the amputation of his right leg when he was 19. Now, at the age of 35, Ryan lives a very active lifestyle as a MMA fighter, marathon runner and heavyweight powerlifter. In 2018, he even won gold at the Heavyweight Para-Division of the Abu-Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu Tournament.
We closely follow Chris’ rehabilitation journey- at doctors appointments, physical therapy, on the track and at home. Everything he does is with one goal in mind: to make a comeback to MMA. But the journey to get there is physically and emotionally taxing, filled with ups and downs, uncertainty and questioning.
His back, knees and ribs throb. He can’t seem to make weight like he did when he was younger. At night, he can’t sleep — his thoughts jumping between doubt, perseverance and, of course, mourning. Will it be worth it? Can he do it? No matter what, Ryan is by his side along the way, as a wise coach and source of laughter.
Mixing over 3 years of original interviews, vérité cinematography, stylized studio shoots and archival footage, Momentum is a visually rich and motivating comeback story — a story of human resilience.
Ryan and Chris live in a world where they fight for every single thing in their lives: opportunities, socio-economic stability, family security and health. It’s through the vein of Mixed Martial Arts, Momentum brings to light individual human stories of these fighters as they navigate personal and professional obstacles. This film is not only about the sport but the stories of resilience, vulnerability and sacrifice that the fighters embody. The stories of these two are timely and relevant, speaking directly to the human experience — the power of kindness and community, the importance of striving towards goals and how that helps you manage through the darkest times.
Chris and Ryan, each with their own massive challenges, could be labeled ‘underdogs’ but through the film, we realize they transcend labels. Ryan is not defined by his amputation, but thrives as a competitor, a Heavyweight Para-Division gold medalist, and mentor. Chris is not defeated by his injuries or grief. He uses his scars and loss a motivation to become a new, better version of himself.
MOMENTUM draws inspiration from Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap (2018) and Tracy Drox Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo’s Rich Hill (2014), we are inspired by the style and storytelling seen in films like: T-REX (2015) from directors Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper, Midnight Family (2019) from director Luke Lorentzen.
By harnessing the vérité filmmaking approach, achieving a level of intimacy and immersiveness only possible by following the story unfold over a period of time. We use an Ursa Mini Pro and Black Magic Pocket camera 4K, and have been shooting in 4k UHD.
Additional stylistic considerations include: shooting some scenes in studio light to represent what they see in their head, shooting duplicate shots with and without a sparring partner to symbolize when they may be fighting an internal battle.
The film will incorporate home video and self-shot footage to add texture and to visualize important parts of our story, especially as Chris used social media to share his recovery.
PRE-PRODUCTION: Starting March 2019
PRODUCTION: April 2019- Nov 2021
POST-PRODUCTION: Nov 2021- August 2021
FESTIVALS AND DISTRIBUTION: Starting September 2022
Distribution will include a Festival premiere at a leading film festival such as Sundance, SXSW, or Hot Docs, followed by a strategic festival tour with targeted screenings and live discussion events. Then the film will have a digital release on a major streaming platform.
MICHELLE AGUILAR | CO-DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Michelle earned an M.A in Social Documentation from the University of California, Santa Cruz and has produced numerous non-fiction multimedia projects in cultures and communities across the world. Her work has screened at the Margaret Mead Film Festival, Napa Valley Film Festival, Banff film festival, Carmel International Film Festival, Big Sky Film Festival, and has been recognized at the IDA awards, Social Justice Film Festival and the DC Environmental Film Festival. As a Documentary Filmmaker, she is committed to social equality and fair representation of marginalized populations. By harnessing the power of narrative visuals and technology, she feels like she is able to contribute to an art that provides an accessible and entertaining avenue for people to learn, grow, connect, and act.
LANE POWER | CO-DIRECTOR/DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Lane is a talented director and Cinematographer with a 17 year career in filmmaking. His work has covered action sports, natural history documentaries, commercial work, and fine art. Lane has a particular interest in people and their stories which are always more complex than outward appearances would suggest. He strives to use his work to help people understand each other and believes that empathy is one of our most powerful tools.
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