How 'Slapped Straight' Directors Brought Growing Combat Sport to the Big Screen

48 Hour Film Project winners David Anderson and Raynel Almonte are making history in Buffalo, New York, with their new comedy Slapped Straight – the first ever film about slap fighting, a sport said to be popular in Russia and Serbia that’s been gaining momentum in the U.S. through UFC CEO Dana White and SlapFight Championship founder JT Tilley. 

Prior to merging their companies into Luminary Figures Group, Anderson and Almonte have made a name for themselves in the Buffalo area with several short films of their own including the award-winning mystery Degraded, the family film Holy Night and award-winning drama Take Me. 

Web series thriller 'Unusual Attraction' by Luminary Figures Group. Starring Amanda Barsi, Austin Gallego, Grace Harvey, Sean Mansfield, Shanda Gardner Fry, Hugh Davis and more.Slapped Straight -- about a rideshare driver and a slap fighter whose lives intertwine after mistakenly grabbing the wrong gym bag -- was actually developed while Anderson and Almonte were on set filming their web series thriller, Unusual Attraction. Once the idea sparked, the filmmaking duo wrote the screenplay for Slapped Straight in three months.

"My partner Raynel wanted to create a movie that has not been made yet. We were looking for a niche and slap fighting was one of them. There was no movie made on the upcoming sport. So we decided to go at it!" says Anderson, who shares the Writing, Directing, Editing and Producing hat on Slapped Straight.

The film follows rideshare driver Garry Nichols who lives day by day resenting his life choices, which is as plain as anyone else's until he meets the one person that will change his life for the better. After boosting Garry's confidence and showing him how to live, HotHands introduces Garry to the world of Slap Fighting, where hothands prepares to go up against the Smack Fight Champion.

Comedy 'Slapped Straight by Luminary Figures Group. Starring Garry Jerome Knight, Mark Williams, Kyle Seyer, Sonia Angeli, Jahga Banks and Jewels Genesis.

Anderson describes production as 37 fun and amazing days filled with many memorable moments when he and Almonte were on set, especially the "scenes with El Guapo." For Anderson, one of those moments were when actor Garry J. Knight would go missing, and "we needed him for a scene, so the group chat would always say 'Where's Garry!?'."

When the crew ran out of light and needed to film the inside during day, that didn't stop the production. "We were tight on the schedule so we didn't want to miss a shoot day. But we figured out to just take a bunch of lights and put them behind the window and made it look like day time."

"We couldn't of picked a better cast," he says while adding that the post production was also fun to do. Over the course of seven months, Anderson and Almonte put together different scenes separately, then came together to get a picture lock. "What took a lot of time, was that the entire movie is ADR. So we had to recreate the foley and add in all the atmospheric sounds. Tiresome, but worth it," says Anderson.

 Rather than having one composer for the film's soundtrack, Anderson and Almonte crowdsourced original music from various artists for Slapped Straight. "We wanted to help artists in Buffalo, NY by putting a variety of different artists music in our film. Buffalo has a good group of music artists that I believe are underrated. So we wanted to put them on the map and push their work as much as we push Slapped Straight. The music makes the movie more unique and original which brings another element to the table, and each song that we used, matched the tone and vibe of the scene, or at least moment within a scene," says Anderson.

Almonte, who was a multi-passionate artist himself, already had his finger on the pulse of the local music scene long before making this film. "I was in between choosing what I wanted to do with my life. I was a rapper, I made graphic designs; made T-shirts. I had a bunch of things I wanted to do. I had a mentor that told me to chose one thing, so I decided to choose filmmaking. I've wanted to move into that field, because it embodied everything that I already loved to do. Music, design, etc. That's when I knew filmmaking was for me," he says.

As someone who participated in multiple 48 Hour Film Projects, Anderson is a great collaborator whose filmmaking journey is a huge complement to Almonte's multidisciplinary experience. "I've always loved story telling. To this day I would zone out and imagine different scenes in my head, that will cause me to have an emotional response. I've always enjoyed the feeling that would come from that. What made me chose filmmaking over just writing books, or short stories, is that I can really bring to life the images that are in my head, and evoke emotion into others. So I purchased my first camera, Lumix GH4, found the Buffalo Film Community, then started making short films," adds the prolific director.

Comedy 'Slapped Straight' movie poster. Produced, Written, Directed, Filmed and Edited by David O Anderson with production assistance from Al Warren.The poster design for Slapped Straight is very creative, bucking many movie poster trends in favor of a one-sheet that looks like hand drawn artwork. So I was curious about the directors' process in choosing the design and who made it.

"We wanted to create a poster that tells the story when looking at it. We also wanted to the cover to be colorful as the film itself is very colorful and vibrant," shares Anderson. 

The comedy feature premiered at the Capitol Theatre earlier this Spring in Niagara Falls, NY. It has since been embraced by the slap fighting sport and its founder, JT Tilley, which the Co-Directors find to be nothing short of amazing.

"The fact that JT was interested in our movie and decided to help push it, really felt like we reached a goal, or an achievement. The film was well received by the community and we are really appreciative for the support we have gotten," says Anderson. 

This support even took the Co-Directors all the way to Texas, which Almonte describes as a very good experience. "With it being Dave's first time on a plane, and going to Texas, it made it all the more special. When we got there, we ended up going to check out the location the Slap Fight event was taking place, and that's when JT spotted us. He welcomed us to the place and showed us around. Then the next day was the slap fight event. It was amazing to say the least. And of course you know we had to get some Texas barbecue," he says. 

Being surrounded by men slapping each other for sport, the directors would surely have some perspective on the slap incident that happened between comedian/host Chris Rock and actor Will Smith at the 94th annual Oscars, right? It surprised Anderson. "There was obviously entertainment in that incident, but personally it was a let down to see someone you looked up to in some way, embarrass another one you looked up to in some way. I feel bad for Chris Rock, and in some way I also feel bad for Will. He was an icon and that one moment, he fell and that destroyed his image," says Anderson. 

From lighting challenges on set and missing actors to traveling by air for the first time and entering the world of competitive slapping, Anderson and Almonte are proud to be independent filmmakers. "We enjoy being able to tell our own original stories, and watching people enjoy them," says the Co-Directors who aim to "connect with people and evoke emotions. To be able to create a quality film in its story, image, and sound. Ultimately, to be a big production house and be able to be a full time filmmaker." 

'Slapped Straight' Producers, Writers, Directors, Cinematographers and Editors David O AndersonThe directors are already on their way to reaching their goal of being a big production house after merging their own separate companies, ComposedIMAGE and FrameArt Pictures, into Luminary Figures Group in their aim to create a unique, official name for both of them.

They drew names from a hat, but didn't like them. Soon Anderson came up with the name Luminary Figures Group and Almonte liked it. 

Anderson and Almonte are certain it is possible to make a living as a filmmaker but you need the proper equipment. "Why would someone choose my production company, when they can choose someone else who can create any vision because they have the necessary equipment to do so. It is very possible, but the equipment matters," adds Anderson. 

They're currently looking to upgrade their equipment so Luminary Figures Group can take on commercial jobs and weddings. "Our lowest list of equipment is about $30,000. That will kick us in to gear to start taking on projects for other people. In the field of filmmaking, we feel our stories are our strong point, but we can work to make our dialogue a little better. Also, script supervising; or a larger crew in general as it is just us, sometimes 1 other person to assist on set," says the duo. 

In the meantime, they are screening Slapped Straight at film festivals and working to get the film wider distribution. "We really enjoy creating original and unique movies for people to watch and we hope that we can get the recognition we do deserve, and one day be as big as A24, Paramount Pictures, Disney etc. We jut need the opportunity to prove ourselves, and show that we can create real unique movies," adds Anderson and Almonte. 

The comedy Slapped Straight is available to rent for 48 hours here. 

Who would you pay to see in a slap fighting competition? 

What do you think about the Slapped Straight movie poster?