DEMON OF THE DERBY: THE ANN CALVELLO STORY
Directed by Sharon Marie Rutter; Produced by Christine Murray and Elizabeth Pike
(Liz will be in attendance to facilitate a Q&A after the screening).

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7th, 2002 at 9.00PM
The Milky Way Lounge & Lanes

Long before the World Wrestling Federation overtook American subculture, there was Roller Derby: a spectacle of elbow-smashing, face-crashing, bloody-flipping psychopaths streaking around a rink on roller skates at breakneck speeds all in the name of entertainment.   Significantly, women were included in the events at a time when most female role models more closely resembled June Cleaver than Xena Princess Warrior.  

Demon of the Derby: The Ann Calvello Story is a feature-length documentary which tells the tale of America's Archvillainess of the Roller Derby, Ann Calvello--a woman who made a mark on the world by breaking out of traditional female roles and proving to be one of the toughest Roller Derby athletes involved in competition.  Two years in the making, this is her inspiring documentary portrait.

Back 50 years ago, Roller Derby was “The People's Sport”--watched by 20 million viewers, boasting regular sell-out crowds at Madison Square Garden.  Ann “Banana Nose" Calvello was always at the top, a punk rebel athletic icon long before Dennis Rodman was even born, let alone dyeing his hair.  She was a demon on skates, killer-competitive, the legendary queen of the Derby.  

Known as the "Meanest Mama on Skates" since 1948, Calvello is now in her early 70s, but continues to hang onto the limelight, pursuing her lust for head-smacking, bone-crunching Roller Derby action.  Combining rare archival footage with present-day videographyof her daily life, Sharon Rutter depicts Ann in her glory days and in the present, creating an intimate portrayal of the Roller Derby Queen.

[Editor's Note: This film was edited in Final Cut Pro by Sharon Rutter, editor of Roger Avary's Rules of Attraction]

Demon of the Derby has already premiered to a sold-out crowd at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in November 2001, wowed crowds at The 2002 Santa Barbara Film Festival, and sold-out shows in San Francisco again at the historic Roxie Theater this past April. It has played at the Dallas Video Festival, as well asThe Maine International Film Festival and recently sold-out The Columbus Theatre in Providence as part of PICTURESTART Film Festival this past August.

The Milky Way is located at 403-405 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, downstairs from Bella Luna.  It is accessible via public transportation (Perkins Street stop on the #39 Bus/Jackson Square stop on the Orange Line T).  Screenings run from 9.00-midnight the first Monday of every month; admission for is just $5 per person; events are 21-plus.  Please call 617.524.3740 (x22) for EVENT INFO, more detailed directions or other club info.