Suspect Films

It was an absolute honor to have 'Bending Steel'  participate at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. The programmers, staff and volunteers did an excellent job of running the show and taking care of us throughout the week and a half.  

It was an honor to have shared the experience with Ryan, John, Fernando, Allan, Lance, Hollis, Kia and the rest of the 'Bending Steel' gang.  It was also an equal pleasure to have shared it with some great filmmakers, Deidre Shoo and Michael Beach Nichols of 'Flex Is Kings' and   Daniel Patrick Carbone & Co. of 'Hide Your Smiling Faces.'  Kindred festival spirits for sure.

Thanks for the good times.

You're not likely to see a more inspiring documentary this year than "Bending Steel," the story of Chris Schoeck, an unassuming New York gentleman with one secret passion. Schoeck is a curious character, an admitted introvert with a slight stutter whom you can tell had to be coaxed just to appear on camera. When he travels the subway system, bundled up for the cold weather or clad in a workout t-shirt, he's just another fellow on the train, with his casual Irish boyishness on a face that doesn't seem to smile easily. And then you see him in his warehouse, standing over thick metal beams, and his gentle hands seize a steel beam. A bit of exertion, a grunt, and suddenly it bends. He isn't Chris Schoeck. He's Chris "Wonder" Schoek.

As we get closer to the world premier of 'Bending Steel' Ryan and I are beginning to experience the other side of the film lens.  

     Since my first run in with Chris Schoeck in the basement of our apartment building in Queens, New York, I have been working tirelessly to tell his story and expose it to a much larger audience.  I’m of the opinion that stories like his should be shared, not strictly for entertainment but because they reveal a commonality of purpose, a fine sinew, easy to misinterpret that connects people together to adhered aspirations.

     It was unimaginable to think that a feature length documentary would surface from my random encounter with him.   But in just over two years a lot of amazing things have happened in order to make this film, ‘Bending Steel’ a reality.   This journal will pick up after the film has been finished but before it gets released to the world.  My friend and fellow filmmaker Ryan Scafuro and I are about to take our film on the road, out on to the festival circuit in order to share it with audiences from around the world.