Why is Berry, the Oscar-winning actress, fighting so hard? She is taking a big chance working with non-actors in significant roles. But maybe it’s because even when she won the coveted golden statue, very few black woman followed in her footsteps.

“That moment really meant nothing,” Berry said to Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth two years ago. “It meant nothing. I thought it meant something, but I think it meant nothing.”

Was that the moment she decided to take the fight back to Hollywood?

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“I was profoundly hurt by that and saddened by that, and it inspired me to try to get involved in other ways,” she said two years ago. “[It’s] why I want[ed] to start directing, to start producing more … to be a part of making more opportunities for people of colour,” she said.

Written by Michelle Rosenfarb, Bruised features Berry as lead character Jackie “Justice”, a washed-up, disgraced MMA fighter. She lost her career and is now attempting to rebuild her life by trying to get her son back and training to fight an up and coming star in the MMA world (played by real world MMA fighter Valentina Shevchenko). It’s a story about family, about character and fighting all the demons women can face.

Her character in Bruised is battling against tough odds, but Berry feels that’s the plight of people of colour in the film business right now. “I’ve had conversations more deeply with the Academy members trying to figure out how to add more diversity into the Academy group which chooses who wins every year,” Berry told Welteroth. “I think black people, people of colour, only have a chance to win based on what product we’re allowed to put out. So, that says to me we need more people of colour writing, directing [and] producing, not just starring.”

For her, it’s all about stories, ultimately. Maybe that’s why she chose this vehicle for her directorial debut. “We have to start telling stories that include us,” she said. “And if the stories don’t include us, we have to ask ‘why can’t that [character] be a person of colour?’ ‘Why can’t that white male person be a black woman?’ Why can’t it? We have to start pushing the envelope and asking these questions.”

With Bruised, Berry is doing even more by including in the cast actual Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) MMA fighters. Berry is a big fight fan and loves the UFC.

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“This MMA ability to adapt and change and be fearless and take risks … I feel like I’ve been able to do that throughout my career,” Berry said. “I just love the sport, and I support all the women of the sport,” she said. “What they do is pretty incredible to me. In my movie, Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko are … part of it, and that means the world to me because they are both amazing champions in their own way.”

IBJJF Hall of Famer Gabrielle “Gabi” Lemos Garcia also plays a part. She is a professional martial artist, specialising in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling. Shevchenko, current UFC flyweight champion, is a Kyrgyzstani professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. Nunes is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who is reigning champion of the women’s bantamweight and featherweight divisions (and the first woman to become a two-division UFC champion).

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Also in the cast are Destroyer and TIFF Rising Star Shamier Anderson and Designated Survivor actor Adan Canto. Canto starred in Netflix’s Narcos, as well as X-Men: Days of Future Past. Anderson co-stars as twins Anton and Dario in the third Season of Amazon’s Goliath opposite Billy Bob Thornton.

Anderson is also a co-founder of B.L.A.C.K. (Building a Legacy in Acting Cinema and Knowledge), which mentors young filmmakers.

The fight choreographers for the John Wick franchise (Berry starred in the third instalment, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, with Keanu Reeves) serve on the Bruised set. Berry also joined John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk again for this film, as well as Linda Gottlieb.

Berry trained hard, seriously amping-up not only her fitness routine, but training also with performance coach Mubarak “Bar” Malik. She is proving a lot with this project – for instance, that 53 years-old looks strong and amazing on a woman, and even an Oscar winner still goes out and works for more and that, in the end, the story is ultimately what matters.

Berry’s still fighting, and she means business.

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