The Match
Running time: 15:08
This delightful and unmistakably Albertan documentary follows two performers in a struggling independent wrestling promotion, the Prairie Wrestling Alliance. The characters are iconic, yet real. Nizar Watfa of Lamont, Alberta is a Muslim immigrant fighting under the name Sheik Abdul Shibaz. However, Nizar’s father must overcome his distaste for what he sees as an embarrassing and racist portrayal of his culture. And then there’s daydreaming Dustin Meyer (aka Hollywood Dusty Adonis) from the small town of Eston, Saskatchewan. These two men are preparing to fight for the championship belt and escape from their day jobs at a fast food restaurant and canary seed factory respectively. Will Nizar’s dad finally attend a match? Will he disown his son? Will the beloved Hollywood beat The Evil Sheik? Find out in The Match!
Producer/Director of Photography
Co-founder of Open Sky Pictures, Frederick Kroetsch has been a reporter, videographer, host and producer of Alberta TV for the past decade. He has produced thousands of broadcast stories covering everything from cattle police to astronauts. As a documentarian, he has filmed in many countries around the world including Kenya, Honduras and Peru. Frederick won Best Drama Under 60 Minutes at the 2008 AMPIA Awards and graduated with a major in Film Production from Concordia University in Montreal.
Writer/Director
Kurt Spenrath, who co-founded Open Sky Pictures, is an award-winning filmmaker. Splitting his time between Toronto and his home in Alberta, Kurt has worked with his business partner, Fred, for over a decade as writer, director, story editor, consultant and performer. An accomplished theatre artist, Kurt has toured Europe at the invitation of the Governor General, and has guest lectured at universities around the globe. Kurt has created several projects for Canadian television and has worked as a screenwriter with the feature films Warsaw and The Trillionaires.
