Bending Steel screening at the Tribeca Film Festival
April 25th, 2013 by Mr. C
(Photo by Chocko)
(Chris ‘Wonder’ Schoeck otherwise known as the man behind Bending Steel outside the Clearview Cinemas before the screening. Notice the relic of a case in tow filled w/ his weapons of choice – steel! /Photo by Chocko/)
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Director: Dave Carroll
Genre: Documentary feature film on the Strongman
Have you ever had a feeling that you didn’t quite fit in with society or that you felt like an extraterrestrial roaming about one of the most famous cities in the world while everyone is running amuck trying to make a fast buck and finding ways to spend it the very next minute? Such is the case with our subject in this uplifting documentary film BENDING STEEL. Chris ‘Wonder’ Schoeck is a loner, an introvert that feels out of place in this urban mecca known as NYC despite growing up in her arms. Chris seems to be making a honest living working as a therapist/personal trainer but otherwise wants nothing to do with relationships in any form whatsoever. He feels disengaged from society and chooses to not take part in public or personal affairs for that matter. A major part of this is due to his insecurities with himself and later on in the movie we would find out that he had demons in his past that would help contribute to these traits. Chris, however would find solitude in twisting, contorting, and bending steel! He feels a certain high and instant gratification in that very moment when that piece of metal would give way to his body! This manipulation of steel made him feel in control of the situation as opposed to interactions with human beings. Chris kept to himself so much so that his parents did not even know about his passions of this unusual art form. Of course bending metal of different sizes and shapes presents obstacles, challenges, and subsequent failures which can also stand to symbolize the nuts and bolts of human relationships as well.
In the second half of the film, Chris would step outside of his box to reach out to other people that shared these same passions. This would introduce us to the yesteryear art of the Olde time Strongman performer, the kind of performance that you would find at Sideshows in Coney Island and other circus acts across the United States of real, unbelievable human feat! We would learn a lot about the subculture of the strongman performer and their strong bond (pun intended)!
(Wonder Schoeck at the post screening of Bending Steel at Clearview Cinemas accompanied by a strip of steel he will bend in a few minutes!)
With the help of this outlaw community (Steel Nuts Club), Chris Wonder Schoeck would learn a lot about himself and a lot about performing in front of live audiences with his rather unique skill. The eventual goal was to perform at Coney Island’s famous sideshows in an Olde Time Strongman Spectacular! Characters such as Chris ‘Hairculese’ Rider, Stanless Steel, Slim ‘The Hammerman’ Farman, Sonny ‘Man of Steel’ Barry, & John ‘Hammerhead’ Ferraro will help bring this lost art back to life at Coney Island!
As a side note, Chris Wonder Schoeck seemed very well spoken for and appeared to be pretty comfortable in front of the camera. I guess there are various degrees of feeling isolated from society and maybe Chris’ degree of separation was more internal and self-inflicted than it showed on the surface. Either way, BENDING STEEL was an inspirational and uplifiting cyclone like rollercoaster journey that Wonder Schoeck took us on. It seemed like a very familiar path and one that many of us go through at various stages in our life whether we realize our calling in life though, is another story. Besides having the Richie Cunningham (Happy Days) and boy next door appeal as an Olde Time Strongman, we actually think Chris Schoeck might serve as a wonderful outlet as an inspirational speaker to our young future leaders of America or perhaps to adults in need of some motivation to get back on their feet. We are positive that his story will resonate with a lot of folks in dire needs of a kick in the butt or a 2nd chance in life.
There was a brief Q&A with the Director and ‘Wonder’ Schoeck himself after the screening along with a live demonstration of Chris bending a strip of steel into a coil like form! Chocko took some video of the Q&A below!
(Q&A w/ Chris Schoeck + Director after screening)
(Q&A w/ Chris Schoeck + Director after screening in Audio format)
(Chris Wonder bending the steel after the screening at Chelsea Cinemas!)
(The results of the steel after the Wonder twist! Tight little coil pack indeed! Nice job! Chocko is holding the finished product and is trying to finish the bends to no avail!)
You can catch Bending Steel at the Tribeca Film Festival this Saturday at Clearview Cinemas on 23rd Street at 10.30pm. Otherwise watch out for a screening near you! We don’t think this film will have any problems for distribution in one form or another!
Tags: 2013 tribeca film festival, coney island, documentary
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