TFS’s Michael Paszt Tag Teams with Director Kate Kroll to Bring Wrestling Icon Luna Vachon’s Story to Big Screen
Toronto Film School’s Michael Paszt will celebrate the world premiere of his latest wrestling documentary, Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story, at the Canadian Film Fest this weekend.
The film, which the longtime Film Production and Writing for Film & Television instructor produced alongside writer-director/pro-wrestler Kate Kroll, will mark its big screen debut as the festival’s closing night film on Saturday, March 29 at 9 p.m. at Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
“Lunatic tells the story of Luna Vachon, a Canadian wrestler who came from wrestling royalty in Quebec,” Paszt said of the film. “The Vachon family was huge in the day – and Luna was a real trailblazer.”
The 114-minute documentary delves deeply into both the late Canadian wrestling legend’s 22-year career in the ring, as well as her tumultuous personal life and inner demons, including the guilt of balancing motherhood with her career, a bipolar diagnosis, abuse, and addiction.
Using archived footage, photos and interviews from her World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) days, Lunatic aims to shed light on the woman behind the iconic mohawk and ferocious persona, exploring both the triumphs and tragedies of a groundbreaking athlete who defied expectations and paved the way for women in professional wrestling.
“This is not just a wrestling story; it’s a human story,” Kroll said in a statement. “We wanted to explore the complexities of Luna’s life, her incredible impact on the industry, and the devastating struggles she faced. In a time when women were often relegated to stereotypical roles, Luna demanded respect and carved her own path.”
Paszt first connected with Kroll in December 2019, when his first wrestling documentary, Nail in the Coffin: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro, screened at the Whistler Film Festival in B.C. There, the pair quickly began talks of collaborating on the Vachon story.
“Kate came up to me after the screening, said she really enjoyed the film, then started pitching me on the idea for Lunatic. One thing led to another, and she asked me if I wanted to produce the movie, and that’s what I did,” he recalled. “Now, a few years later, we’re having its world premiere.”
One of the highlights of working on the Lunatic for Paszt was having the opportunity to attend the Cauliflower Alley Club’s annual reunion in Las Vegas to interview some of Vachon’s now-retired former WWE colleagues for the film.
“It was pretty cool to see all these wrestlers I grew up admiring, just walking around and hanging out, and get to interview some of them,” he said. “We got to talk to a lot of WWE talent from over the years and former wrestling champions that worked with Luna, which was really cool.”
Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story was co-produced by Kroll’s Black Moon Media and Paszt’s Hangar 18 Media.
Tickets to the film’s March 29 world premiere at the Canadian Film Festival can be purchased HERE!
