About Director John Hyams

Beginning his career in the fine arts, John Hyams graduated from Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts, earning the university's top awards in painting and sculpture. He went on to exhibit and sell his work in Los Angeles and New York before turning his attention to film. In 1997 he wrote, directed and produced his first feature, "One Dog Day," which debuted at the Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival and went on to enjoy critical and cult status. His second film, the internationally renowned documentary "The Smashing Machine," penetrated the world of Mixed Martial Arts fighting. It premiered at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival, and headlined the 2003 season of HBO's acclaimed series "America Undercover." In 2003 he directed and edited the documentary "Fight Day," about Mixed Martial Arts legend Renzo Gracie. Since 2003, he has directed and produced network series television, notably the ABC series "NYPD Blue."

Director's Statement

At a time when the word "reality" has come to imply something inherently false, the filmmaker must search long and hard for the natural, raw moment. For this reason "Rank" is the third documentary I've made about individuals involved in organized competition, set in large arenas. These environments provide heightened circumstances created by opposing forces colliding with one another, and the subsequent revelation of character through this collision. In the world of professional bull riders, the stakes are exponentially higher due to the fact that during every moment of their professional lives the riders must face the very real threat of serious and potentially crippling injury; they must live with the knowledge that each ride may well be their last. Though they attempt to brush off and minimize this threat, the proverbial elephant in the room, it is ultimately what defines these men, and the prism through which we, and the people in their lives, view them. Rather than words, they reveal themselves through action; through the act of trying to stay on the back of a two-thousand-pound beast that doesn't want them there, and the specific brand of courage required to do that. This film is about this very action, and the lifestyle that facilitates it; a lifestyle of long, quiet moments punctuated by eight seconds of fierce, brutal activity. Like the American Western itself, this is a story about wide-open spaces, the quest for gold, the violence that ensues, and the character that is revealed in the process.