By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Seattle native and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Dr. Anita M. Cal is helping bring a gritty new boxing drama to theaters nationwide with the release of Undercard, starring comedian and actress Wanda Sykes in one of her most dramatic roles to date.
Cal, a University of Washington graduate who studied journalism and English, co-wrote Undercard with longtime collaborator and director Tamika Miller. The film was produced by Anne Clements and Paul Kampf and marks one of Sykes’ most dramatic roles to date, a departure from her well-known comedic performances.
The film debuted nationally in theaters earlier this year after being produced by Catalyst Studios and acquired by Seismic Releasing. Undercard premiered to a sold-out crowd at the Newport Beach Film Festival, where it won Best U.S. Narrative Feature ahead of its February theatrical release.
Miller said working with Cal over the years has strengthened her own writing and storytelling skills.
“I’ve known Anita for 15+ years at this point. we’ve worked on a few projects together, just sort of feature film work and Anita comes to screenwriting with just a breath of knowledge and experience, not only as a screenwriter, but also as a line producer for films,” says Miller. “And I’m a director, writer, and my having worked with Anita has just been such a great experience and she’s helped me become a better writer.”
Before entering the film industry, Cal initially pursued a career in journalism and broadcasting. A former athlete, she attended the University of Washington where she began developing her writing skills while covering sports.
“I specifically was focusing on broadcasting. That was my initial hope. I wanted to do something that had to do with television, but I didn’t know what all the professional jobs were,” says Cal. “I was writing for some of the local sports magazines because I was an athlete. I don’t even know how the sports magazines got in touch with me. I think they saw some of my high school articles and so I started covering basketball games.”
During her early career, Cal worked as a correspondent for several publications, including the Beacon Hill News, the Seattle Times and the Los Angeles Times.
“Then I became an assistant while I was at the University of Washington at the Seattle Times,” Cal continued. “I ended up going from there to the LA Times, which I was supposed to be there for 2 years under a training program, and I went into film.”
Cal’s transition into the film industry came unexpectedly while she was working in Los Angeles. A visit to a film set introduced her to the world behind the camera and revealed opportunities she had not previously considered.
“When I was down there (in Los Angeles), I happened to be on staff with someone whose cousin, first cousin was Lawrence Fishburne,” Cal recalls. “And so, she went down to the set, and she was saying, I met the writers and the director, and I was like, wait a minute, there’s black people behind the scenes? Well, what do they do? And so that just piqued an interest in me.”
Undercard tells what Cal describes as “a gripping, heart-tugging tale” about the complicated relationship between a mother and the son she abandoned.
“Ultimately, Undercard is a gripping, heart-tugging tale about love, forgiveness, pain, and redemption between a mother and the son she abandoned,” said Cal.
Sykes stars as Cheryl “No Mercy” Stewart, a recovering alcoholic and former boxing champion trying to rebuild her life.
The story centers on Cheryl’s attempt to reconcile with her estranged 21-year-old son, Keith. Keith is struggling to build a boxing career and agrees to an uneasy partnership with his mother, who attempts to manage his path in the sport.
Cal said Sykes anchors an ensemble cast that includes William Sanford Davis, Bentley Green, Xavier Mills, Roselyn Sánchez, Berto Colón and Arischa Conner.
“When Tamika first told me about the story, I was all in. I love boxing movies, and I envisioned it as Creed-meets-Million Dollar Baby, grounded in culture and authenticity. It’s been a long time coming,” says Cal. “When Wanda Sykes signed on, we knew we had something special. Once the rest of the cast were on board, it was amazing seeing the characters crafted on the page come to life in such an honest and mesmerizing way.”
Like many creative fields, Cal said the film industry can present challenges, particularly for filmmakers seeking to tell their own stories.
“So, the challenges in, for anyone in Hollywood are, is always going to be money. It’s going to be money, access, and then control of the narrative,” says Cal. “That’s always the fight. Telling the stories that you want to tell, how you want to tell them.”
Miller encouraged aspiring filmmakers and storytellers to remain committed to their creative voice while building strong collaborations.
“I would say that for up-and-coming filmmakers and storytellers to stay true to your voice and vision as a storyteller and stay the course,” Miller adds. “I think that the film business can be challenging at times, and it can also be hugely rewarding, and I would encourage filmmakers to reach to the side of them, and collaborate with other storytellers that are coming up with them and not always looking for someone to pull them up, because eventually when one goes, you all will go essentially.”
