Copyright Variety
“Christy,” a sports drama about Christy Martin, has drawn rave reviews for Sydney Sweeney’s transformative performance as the former professional boxer who endured triumph and tragedy in her barrier-breaking career. But it’s also a chance for Votiv, a scrappy production company that helped develop the film, to take its place in the center of the ring. “We are trying to intersect art and commerce,” says Brent Stiefel, Votiv’s founder and CEO. “We founded this business to support artists and let them realize their visions. That’s important, because it’s really hard to build a career in the arts. If we can help with that while operating a sustainable business, we’ll be a success.” “Christy,” which opens on Friday, is the highest-profile film in the company’s history and exemplifies the kind of artist-driven stories that Votiv hopes to keep making. “This was a project that we had the opportunity to buy the life rights on some years ago,” says Justin Lothrop, head of film and television at Votiv. “Christy is an amazing human being and her story is incredible. We knew it would make a compelling movie and it’s so exciting to be able to share it with the world.” Martin held the WBC female super welterweight title, rising to the top of her chosen sport and earning a reputation for her toughness and endurance. But her personal life was equally dramatic — she overcame addiction, survived a murder attempt by her estranged husband, recovered and went on to marry Lisa Holewyne, a former boxing rival. Votiv managed to outmaneuver other companies to convince Martin to let them dramatize her life on screen. They then partnered with other production entities like Anonymous Content, which brought together Sweeney and director David Michôd, and Black Bear, which helped finance the film and will distribute it in theaters. “There aren’t a lot of companies that do development quite as as deeply as we do,” says Lothrop. “We engage on things at the earliest stages, as opposed to trying to track down spec scripts and doing rewrites very far down the line. We want to shape things. If there’s a secret sauce, that’s it.” Votiv began life in 2011 as a management company for musicians, but after Steifel connected with Lothrop, an indie veteran, it moved more aggressively into the feature space. The company has released more than a dozen features, ranging from comedies (“Obvious Child” with Jenny Slate) to dramas (“Between Us” with Julia Stiles) to documentaries (“Alt Right: Age of Rage”). It hopes to release between three to four movies annually and has several projects on the horizon, including “Wicker,” a comedy with Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard, and “Patricia Wants to Cuddle,” a horror-comedy that will be directed by Sophia Takal (“Black Christmas”). Earlier this year, the company premiered “Tow,” a drama about a homeless woman that stars Rose Byrne, at Tribeca. In the case of “Christy,” the duo is thrilled that the movie will get a run in cinemas, as opposed to winding up on streaming. “Being creative at heart, we’d love for every one of our films to make it into theaters,” says Stiefel. “That’s not the reality, but it’s our preferred pathway.”
