Grappling Grace

A church in Bristol becomes a place to train. On the floor, a wrestling hold demands attention to another person's weight; soon, a similar movement seems to approach dance. Grappling Grace, a twenty-minute British documentary directed by Alexander Kiehl and Misha Novak, follows Iranian-British wrestler and dancer Saeed Esmaeli and the activities of Wrestle for Humanity. The film's submission to the International Sport Film Festival 2026 offers an opportunity to discover a project in which sport is woven into the life of a community.

The starting point is tangible: the sessions Esmaeli leads in a space inside a church. The film observes how participants learn to balance, hold and be guided, moving between individual and shared exercises. Hands, feet and grips make their work visible. Conversations and archive material sit alongside the training, introducing aspects of Esmaeli's personal journey without separating it from the people he meets on the mat.

Wrestle for Humanity describes itself as an initiative that uses wrestling to make sport more accessible and build relationships. On its website, the project places its work in Bristol and explains its intention to open the sport to people who have often been excluded from it. Grappling Grace approaches that aim through time spent together: an exercise, a helping hand, a pause and a return to movement. Dance is not a separate subject here; it is another way Esmaeli expresses his relationship with his body and with other people.

The documentary appeared in the Dance Digital programme at Sadler's Wells and among the documentary shorts at the 2026 Brooklyn Film Festival. These public presentations help situate a work that moves between sport, dance and documentary portraiture. Its presentation by the Festival concerns a submitted film and does not anticipate any selection or programming decision.