Flyweights (in development)
A gritty drama about a 19-year-old female street fighter and pole dancer, raised by her paralyzed ex-gangster father, who swaps dealing drugs for boxing — fighting her way toward Olympic gold and the mother who abandoned her.
Development
Red Sea Series Lab with Film Independent, 2025
Director's statement
Almost ten years ago, I filmed a documentary about the women’s national boxing team of Kazakhstan. I was struck by their strength, discipline, and beauty — by how fiercely they trained, how much they carried, and how little the world saw of their inner lives. These were young women fighting not only in the ring but within themselves — balancing their masculine and feminine sides, trying to find who they were in a system that often decided for them.
When my daughter was born, I started thinking differently about what it means to raise a strong girl — someone who can protect herself, but who doesn’t lose her uniqueness in the process. That thought brought me back to those boxers — to their fire, contradictions, and courage.
This series grew from that feeling. It’s about girls from Central Asia fighting for Olympic gold, but also fighting to define themselves. For me, it’s a story of strength without losing humanity, of power that coexists with tenderness — and of what it means to grow up fighting, but not to become consumed by the fight.
Eldar Shibanov
DIRECTOR / writer
YULIYA LEVITSKAYA
Producer / co-writer