Strong! is an hour-long experimental documentary film that follows the struggle of an Olympic athlete to maintain her champion status as her weightlifting career inches towards its inevitable end. An elite at the international level and a formidable figure in American weightlifting, 21 year old Cheryl Haworth is ranked well above all men and women on Team USA. But at 5′9″ and weighing over 300 pounds, she doesn’t fit easily into standard chairs, clothing sizes, or categories.Strong!explores the contradiction of a body that is both celebrated within the confines of her sport and shunned by mainstream culture. A portrait of a complex athlete, Strong! challenges our notions of power and strength.

UCIRA (The University of California Institute for Research in the Arts), 2010