A true story, based on the life of deaf UFC fighter Matt “The Hammer” Hamill, this inspiring film shows what it takes to be a champion, on and off the mat.

Winner of the 2010 AFI Film Festival Audience Award, Hamill is an inspiring sports bio-pic depicting the hardships and victories one determined deaf man faces on the way to becoming a champion. Matt, described by doctors as “highly intelligent" and "profoundly deaf," is none the less enrolled in public school by his tough-love grandfather Stanley (Raymond J. Barry), who is determined to not coddle the young boy. The boy soon takes up wresting to build up his self-confidence. A lip reader but unable to use ASL (American Sign Language) very well, Matt finds himself as much an outsider amidst the deaf community as he is among those who are not hearing-impaired. After flunking out of one college, Matt gets a second chance at New York's Rochester Institute of Technology, where (for the first time) he finds himself surrounded by deaf peers. This situation propels him out of his shell and gives him the motivation to be a champion. In the spirit of such films as Rocky, Rudy and The Blind Side, Hamill shows how sheer determination, ambition and will can be harnessed to overcome hardship and produce an inspirational force to the hearing and deaf alike. Director Oren Kaplan will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening. (Sign Language with English subtitles with English subtitles) --