Want to See 'The Fire Inside' Before Anyone Else? Early Screening Coming to Flint!

If you can’t wait until Christmas to see Ryan Destiny’s latest film, The Fire Inside, we have some great news for you!

An early screening of the movie has been announced, scheduled for November 10 at 3 PM at the Flint West 14 movie theater in Flint, Michigan. The screening will feature special appearances from lead actress Ryan Destiny, director Rachel Morrison, and the legend herself, Claressa Shields, who The Fire Inside is all about.

The Fire Inside premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and those who saw it had high praise for it. The story follows Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan, on her journey to victory at the Olympics. Alongside Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry plays Jason Clutchfield, Oluniké Adeliyi plays Jackie Shields, and De’Adre Aziza plays Mickey.

The film marks Rachel Morrison’s feature film directorial debut. She made history in the film industry a few years ago by becoming the first woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Mudbound. Morrison has collaborated twice with director Ryan Coogler—first in 2013 on his debut film Fruitvale Station, and then in 2018 on Black Panther, both times as cinematographer.

Ryan Destiny told Variety that she didn’t expect to land the role and approached it with a relaxed attitude, which may have helped her win it. Both Destiny and Shields are from Michigan and are the same age, which helped them connect. Shields was initially uncertain about Destiny playing her, as she had never fought before, but she grew comfortable with it as filming progressed.

Destiny is best known for playing Alexandra Crane in Star and Jillian in the third season of Grown-ish. Last year, she starred in the horror thriller Oracle alongside Ariel Martin and Heather Graham.