The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits down with the team behind
Backspot
at SXSW 2024.
Stars Devery Jacobs, Kudakwashe Rutendo and Thomas Antony Olajide, and director D.W. Waterson discuss bringing their vision to screen with the support of Elliot Page and Pageboy Productions.
The film focuses on a backspot on a mid-level cheerleading squad who’s given the chance to join the Thunderhawks, a high performance All Star team.

Backspot’s an excellent film, one that very much deserves the release rollout it’s receiving. Things kicked off in September 2023 when the film celebrated its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Just recently, it held its International Premiere in Austin during SXSW. Next up is a biggie. Backspot is now gearing up for its nationwide theatrical release in May.

Devery Jacobs headlines Backspot as Riley. She’s an ace backspot on her mid-level cheerleading squad who earns the opportunity to take a big step up. Riley’s invited to join the Thunderhawks, an All Star team coached by Eileen McNamara (Evan Rachel Wood). While Riley has the skills to soar as a Thunderhawk, she’ll have to get her crippling anxiety under control first. With a big competition on the horizon, Riley’s challenged to figure out how to be a top tier competitor while also being her best self in such a high-pressure environment.

While in town for SXSW, director D.W. Waterson, Jacobs and co-stars Kudakwashe Rutendo who plays Riley’s teammate and girlfriend, and Thomas Antony Olajide who steps in as Coach Eileen’s right-hand, all visited the Collider interview studio to discuss their experience bringing Backspot from script to screen.

Image by Jefferson Chacon

The film itself is loaded with ambitious top-tier production work, but before team Backspot could even hit that part of the filmmaking process, they had to overcome one of the greatest challenges of independent filmmaking — finding financing.

Waterson explained how Elliot Page made all the difference in that department:

“
In Canada we have a grant system to be able to fund our feature films, but if nobody knows who you are, they’re not really gonna give a shit.
So I think having him come on and give us that vote of confidence and say, ‘I believe in this team, I believe in this film.’ And he’s not just a celebrity executive producer. He’s been very hands on and so, so unbelievably supportive, so for us, that really swung open the doors to all the possibility.”

While presenting to grant boards and other financing bodies, team Backspot ran into a number of, to be frank, downright absurd questions about the film they wanted to make. For example, Waterson recalled someone asking, “What do you mean cheerleaders are athletes?”

Devery Jacobs Is a “Mother F*cking Producer” & All-Around Force in Hollywood
Image via Collider

Jacobs recalled one especially disappointing question received about Riley as the film’s protagonist:

“When we were looking for funding, there was essentially someone we were looking to for funding and we didn’t get it the first time around, and we asked why and they said, ‘We just didn’t understand why the protagonist was indigenous,’ which was really confusing to me. And I was like,
‘What? There’s not enough fucking tepees in this movie? I don’t understand what this feedback is and why you think that indigenous actors and producers can only tell a very narrow scope of stories.’ And the reason why it obviously has an indigenous protagonist is because I’m Native and I used to be a provincial champion gymnast, and I’m a mother fucking producer.
So, that’s why!”

Jacobs and Waterson stood strong behind their vision every single step of the way, a vision and a creative partnership that was further reinforced by Page’s belief in the project and his insistence on being an active and deeply supportive producer. Jacobs continued:

“
Having heard that story, Elliot really stood behind us and not only championed us and helped open doors, but then also gave us a lot of freedom.
His team at Pageboy Productions, like our other EP Matt Jordan Smith, has been a huge advocate for us and was basically like, ‘Who do you want to cast?’ The whole reason of doing indie film is to be able to not have studios fingerprints all over it, and to get to tell the movie that we wanted to, so [D.W.] had free rein when it came to casting. And in what world would we get our first choice of Evan to play Coach Eileen?”

Eager to hear even more about the making of Backspot leading up to its May 2024 theatrical release? Be sure to check out our full SXSW conversation in the video at the top of this article.

Backspot (2024) Riley is given the chance to cheer with the all-star squad, Thunderhawks. With a competition looming, Riley must navigate her crippling anxiety, her relationship with her girlfriend, and her desperate need for approval from her new coach.Release Date March 9, 2024 Runtime 93 Minutes Main Genre Drama