# American Wrestler: The Wizard

American Wrestler: The Wizard is a 2016 American sports biographical film directed by Alex Ranarivelo. The film centers around the world of competitive high school wrestling and stars George Kosturos as Ali Jahani, a 17–year old who escapes Iran in the 1980s after the Iran hostage crisis and must adjust to life in a small California town only to face more hostility due to the hostage crisis. William Fichtner, Jon Voight, Ali Afshar, Gabriel Basso, Kevin G. Schmidt and Lia Marie Johnson also star in supporting roles.

## Cast

* George Kosturos as Ali Jahani
* William Fichtner as Coach Plyler
* Ali Afshar as Hafez Tabad
* Lia Marie Johnson as Kristi Larsen
* Gabriel Basso as Jimmy Petersen
* Jon Voight as Principal Robert Skinner
* Sasha Feldman as Dan 'Toad' Webster
* Chase Mowen as Mike Thornhill
* Kevin G. Schmidt as Roman Knox
* Nicholas Guilak as Pasha
* Shannon Collis as Wendy

## Production
### Development

The idea for American Wrestler: The Wizard is heavily inspired by producer Ali Afshar who took up wrestling in his high school after fleeing from his home country of Iran due to the political outrage in the 1970s. Speaking on his take of biographical films, Ali stated that he wanted to show that any tough situation can have a positive impact no matter what the outcome. He wanted to emphasise the demeanour of how one's loss can actually be turned into a win.
Majority of the filming took place in Petaluma, California, with scenes being shot at Casa Grande High School (which was renamed to East Petaluma High School for the film), as well as Tomales high school for hallway scenes, cafeteria scenes, as well as the gymnasium being used for some wrestling scenes. Some scenes were also shot in Santa Rosa mainly in the Sonoma County area.

### Music

Jamie Christopherson who previously worked on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and The Crow: Wicked Prayer composed the film's score. Christopherson used a blend of traditional orchestra and synths and worked with Iranian musicians. He also co-composed the film's theme song titled "Rise" with Armenian-Iranian singer, Andy featuring American singer Shani Rigsbee.

## Release

The film premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 23, 2016 and had a limited theatrical run starting May 3, 2017.

## Accolades

| Event | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
| Austin Film Festival | 25 October 2016 | Heart of Film | Brian Rudnick | Won |
| Boston Film Festival | 22 Sep 2016 | Best Film | Alex Ranarivelo, Ali Afshar and Hadeel Reda | Won |
| Boston Film Festival | 22 Sep 2016 | Best Ensemble Cast | Jon Voight, William Fichtner, George Kosturos, Ali Afshar Gabriel Basso, Lia Marie Johnson, Kevin G. Schmidt Nicholas Guilak, Sasha Feldman and Salome Azizi | Won |
| Boston Film Festival | 22 Sep 2016 | Best Screenplay | Brian Rudnick | Won |
| Boston Film Festival | 22 Sep 2016 | Breakout Performance | George Kosturos | Won |
| Napa Film Festival | 12 November 2016 | Favourite Actor | George Kosturos | Won |
| Napa Film Festival | 12 November 2016 | Special Jury Award – Best Performance in a Lounge Feature Film | George Kosturos | Won |
| Napa Film Festival | 12 November 2016 | Favorite Narrative Feature | American Wrestler: The Wizard | Won |
| Newport Beach Film Festival | 23 April 2016 | Honor Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking | Alex Ranarivelo | Won |
| Newport Beach Film Festival | 23 April 2016 | Jury Award for Best Actor | George Kosturos | Won |

## Sequel

The sequel titled American Wrestler: The Fighter was announced by producers Forrest Lucas and Ali Afshar. Principal photography began in North Carolina in June 2017. George Kosturos returns to star with Tommy Flanagan, Bryan Craig, Sean Patrick Flanery and Parviz Sayyad joining as new cast members.