Inspired by Benson Lee’s award-winning documentary, Planet B-Boy, “Battle of the Year” showcases the exhilarating realm of competitive dancing with unprecedented depth and insight, as some of the world’s most elite teams ignite the screen with an astonishing display of athleticism, power and grace.
Battle of the Year is an international dance crew tournament that attracts all the best teams from around the world, but the Americans haven’t won in fifteen years. Los Angeles Hip Hop mogul Dante (Laz Alonso) wants to put the country that started the Sport back on top. He enlists his hard-luck friend Blake (Holloway), who was a championship basketball coach, to coach his team. Armed with the theory that the right coach can make any team champions, they assemble a Dream Team of all the best dancers across the country. With only three months until Battle of the Year, Blake has to use every tactic he knows to get twelve talented individuals to come together as a team if they're going to bring the Trophy back to America where it started.
“I wasn’t familiar with Josh from his role on ‘Lost,’ but from the moment I met him, I just liked him,” says director Benson Lee. “He’s a really genuine person and very professional in his approach to the work. During rehearsals, I was blown away by the way he redefined the coach. He really dug deep into this character and brought such depth and humanity to it. A really good coach is a mentor and Josh achieved that with a lot of the guys on screen, as well as off camera.”
Holloway admits to being a closet b-boy enthusiast since his days as a high-school basketball player. “I’ve been into dancing my whole life, but I never threw it out there in public,” he says. “My basketball team had some really good b-boys on it and we even integrated moves into our warm-ups. When I saw the documentary, I was astonished by the athleticism and the evolution of b-boying.”
To be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting Nov. 6, “Battle of the Year” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.