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Demolition Men
IDFA 2006

Demolition Men

Eldar Gross
Netherlands
2006
115 min
World Premiere
Festival history

Dutchman Alistair Overeem is a free fighter at the highest level. follows him while he prepares for some important fights in Japan. With his two coaches, one for the standup training and the other for ground techniques, he carefully studies his opponents on videotape. Together, they devise strategies to break the opponent's technique and tactics. Although the sport isn't very popular in the Netherlands, Japan welcomes free fighters as superstars, and all the major competitions are held there. The highest competition in Alistair's weight class is called "Pride." With his "guillotine choke," he won a series of fights and achieved instant world fame in the free fight scene. Between training sessions and bouts, Alistair readily poses for numerous cameras, usually holding a huge wooden hammer, his personal symbol. Although Alistair claims he isn't really a showman, free fighting isn't only a big-time sport, it's also big-time entertainment. So when his manager asked him to think of a nickname years ago, he immediately came up with Demolition Man, an image that the friendly Alistair hits home with his demolition hammer.

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