''Glena'' is an American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Allan Luebke. The film tells the story of

Glena Avila ''Glena'' is an American documentary film directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Allan Luebke. The film tells the story of Glena Avila, a single mother who turns to cage fighting to support her family. Synopsis Allan Luebke’s GLENA is the story ...

, a single mother who turns to

cage fighting Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

to support her family.

Synopsis

Allan Luebke’s GLENA is the story of Glena Avila, a single mother in her 30s who decides to bank her future on a career as a mixed martial arts (MMA) cage fighter. Training night and day for her matches, Glena’s total commitment throws her family into crisis, with her children needing her care and her time at her job conflicting with her rigorous workout schedule. But if she can give her all and continue to win her fights, she has a shot at the big time and a future as a professional athlete. Can Glena triumph?

Production

Filming of ''Glena'' began in November 2010 in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The movie was shot on a low budget. The main camera used was a Canon XH-A1, and a Panasonic DVX-100 was used to shoot some early footage. The one-man-crew relied on a wireless lavaliere microphone and camera-mounted shotgun microphone to capture audio. Available lighting was used almost exclusively, though a camera-mounted LitePanels Micro was utilized at times. Luebke, who also edited the film, utilized extensive post-production techniques including

ADR ADR or adr may refer to: Computing * Asynchronous DRAM refresh, an approach for persistent memory found in some Intel Xeon processors * The adr microformat, part of the hCard microformat * Architectural decision record * Action–domain–respond ...

and

sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

to create the film's elaborate fight sequences. Luebke made use of a $5,000

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to raise funds. The Kickstarter campaign was originally intended to pay for two months of editing on a short film version, but the project would ultimately be in production for another three years as a feature-length film was developed.

Release

Glena world premiered at the

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...

on January 18, 2014. It was one of only eight documentaries selected from 5,000 films submitted. It has also played at the

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and is held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-lo ...

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

Maryland Film Festival The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each May in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festival ...

Brooklyn Film Festival The Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF), prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival (BiFF) is an independent film festival held every June in Brooklyn, New York. Started by Marco Ursino, Susan Mackell, Abe Schrager, and Mario Pegoraro ...

, San Francisco DocFest,

Philadelphia Independent Film Festival Philadelphia Independent Film Festival is an annual film festival which takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The festival was created in 2007 by the Media Bureau, Inc. and has been programmed by the #undergroundfilmforum #uf ...

, Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles, Tacoma Film Festival, Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, and more. The movie received the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Women + Film VOICES Film Festival in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, the Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking at the

Arizona International Film Festival The Arizona International Film Festival is the oldest and longest running independent film festival in Arizona. Taking place yearly, film programs include a mix of shorts, children's films, feature-length films, documentaries and animation films. ...

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and the Special Jury Award at Indie Memphis in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. It was selected as the Opening Night Film at the

Portland Film Festival Portland Film Festival is a non-profit organization which hosts events and programs in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 2013 by Joshua Leake with the help of Jay Cornelius. Their main event called the Portland Film Festival is an annual indep ...

. Its American television premiere was on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on September 25, 2014. It released on VOD on August 11, 2015.

Critical response

Film Colossus said "Glena...is right up there with

Hoop Dreams ''Hoop Dreams'' is a 1994 American documentary film directed by Steve James, and produced by Frederick Marx, James, and Peter Gilbert, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students, William Gates and ...

.". Marc Mohan of

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

called the movie an "...astonishing real-life saga of grit, tears and vicious competitive combat." John Ford at SLUG Magazine called it "...rousing and inspirational..."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3226290
Glena Avila
a
Awakening Fighters
2014 films Mixed martial arts documentaries Films shot in Oregon American sportswomen 2010s English-language films