Interview: Ryan Destiny & Rachel Morrison On Strength, Triumph, Female Empowerment and “The Fire Inside.”

Main actress Ryan Destiny (best known for playing Jillian in the series Grown-ish) and director Rachel Morrison (best known for her work as a cinematographer on Black Panther and Fruitvale Station) sat down with The People’s Movies to talk about their newest film The Fire Inside, which is coming out in UK cinemas on the 7th of February 2025. The film is also written and co-produced by Oscar Winner Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and distributed by Amazon MGM Studios.

The film starts in Flint, Michigan, and follows the story of Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) as she trains as a boxer for the Olympics, followed by her coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry). Based on a real story, we see every high and low in Claressa’s training before and after her historic win at the 2012 London Olympics, which made her the first woman in the United States to win a gold medal in boxing.

In the interview, Destiny and Morrison talked about how they decided to depict a sports movie in such a way, with a particular interest in filming the box from a subjective point of view and with all the stunts done by Destiny herself, and what this means in of the female empowerment Clarissa has come to represent. They also discussed the importance of using the real-life city of Michigan Flint as a filming location during the shoot and how this adds a layer of realism to the film as that is where Claressa is originally from. They also reflected on what this movie can tell us about Claressa and her life and legacy as a film that shows both her achievements in the sports world and her personal struggles.

Check out the full interview below:

The Fire Inside opens in UK cinemas on February 7th.