Genre
Synopsis
Marcus Knight is an astounding success story. He’s a charismatic and exuberant bi-racial young adult who was born at just 26 weeks with disabilities including autism and cerebral palsy. Using his favorite contemporary songs to help him express himself and overcome difficulty in communicating his feelings, he excels in school and social life, starring in stage musicals and becoming homecoming king. Embarking on a college education, his dream of a career on Broadway is shattered when he’s accused of sexual harassment from an innocent fist bump and selfies. He must fight to prove his innocence and piece together his shattered ambitions.
FIST BUMP is the provocative and important story of what happens when well-intentioned academic institutional policy collides with and harms the needs of one of our most vulnerable.
Bio
Madeleine Farley is an award-winning British director, whose previous work includes a feature documentary, Trollywood about the homeless in Los Angeles, Gorilla School a 13 part documentary series for Discovery Channel about the plight of Western Lowland Gorillas in Africa, and her most recent endeavour, Stooge, a film about a suicidal super fan of Iggy Pop which proves that “Rock ’n’ roll saves lives”. She is currently in post production on a feature documentary highlighting the issues of Title IX.
Screening History
Premiere - Slamdance Film Festival 2025
Press
"FIST BUMP shook my soul…you will find yourself screaming profanities at the screen. -Reel News Daily"
Reel News Daily
"Director Madeleine Farley and her team tell an epic story, unflinching, of how social justice initiatives, under aegis of administrators and bureaucrats, can be brutal, perverted and harm the people they are supposed to help. Audience Alert: Scenes and passages of cruel and nefarious injustice had this writer-reviewer on the edge of shouting in outrage."
The WORD
"Filmmaker Madeleine Farley has crafted a brave, gut-wrenching, and necessary documentary that highlights love, creativity, and the resilience of the human spirit. Fist Bump forces us to confront the deep flaws in the institutions we entrust with our sons and daughters and the unchecked power they wield over lives that don’t fit their rigid mold. -Horror Movies Uncut"
-Horror Movies Uncut
"Fist Bump is a genuinely heartbreaking documentary."
-Film Threat
"FIST BUMP is a nuanced example of the treatment of any individual with disabilities. The judgment, the outright dismissal, and the fear are heartbreaking. I encourage studios with a wide reach, like PBS, to see FIST BUMP and ensure it is witnessed by the masses. It is vital viewing."
-Reel News Daily
Credits
Producer - Claire Best
Producer - Madeleine Farley
Editor - Joel Plotch
Marcus Knight - Self
Aurora Knight - Self
