Overview

• Premiering Sept. 5 at Toronto, Christy drew a thunderous standing ovation, with a tearful Sweeney joined onstage by boxing icon Christy Martin.
• Sweeney told Vanity Fair she would not address her American Eagle campaign during the festival, saying she is “not there to talk about jeans.”
• The July campaign drew criticism over its “jeans/genes” wordplay; American Eagle said it was about the jeans and reported sellouts with a restock planned benefiting Crisis Text Line.
• For the role, Sweeney trained two to three times daily for months, gained over 30 pounds, and worked with a boxing coach, weight trainers and a nutritionist.
• The film charts Martin’s rise and her experience of domestic abuse; Martin consulted on the project, Sweeney is a producer, and Black Bear will release it in U.S. theaters Nov. 7 as awards buzz builds.