Beyond The Mat
The Braulio Estima Story
Official Nominee - Birmingham Film Festival 2026
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Audience Choice - Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2026
Best Short Film Documentary - Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2026
Official Nominee - Birmingham Film Festival 2026 〰️ 〰️ 〰️ Audience Choice - Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2026 Best Short Film Documentary - Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2026
Beyond The Mat: The Braulio Estima Story is a 28-minute documentary about what remains when you look beyond the medals, titles and reputation of a world champion. Braulio Estima is one of the most respected figures in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but the film is less interested in what he won than in what it took to keep going when injury, uncertainty and identity collided. Through his family, his career and the people closest to his journey, the film became a story about resilience, purpose and the battles that often happen far away from the spotlight.
The Film
Who We Made It For
At the centre of the film is Braulio Estima, a multiple-time world champion, ADCC champion and Hall of Fame athlete whose influence reaches far beyond competition. He has spent much of his life teaching, competing and helping grow Brazilian Jiu Jitsu around the world. What mattered to us was showing more than the athlete people already knew, and creating space for the husband, father, brother and person behind that public identity to come through.
How It Began
The project began with the opportunity to tell Braulio's story, but it quickly became clear that a straightforward film about sporting success would only scratch the surface. The more we learned about his journey, particularly the setbacks, family relationships and spinal injury that threatened both his mobility and career, the more the film began to find its real purpose. From there, the question stopped being "what has Braulio achieved?" and became "what has shaped the person behind those achievements?"
Behind the Lens
We approached the documentary story first, building the narrative around the moments and people that could reveal something deeper about Braulio rather than simply collecting impressive footage.
Manny directed and led the cinematography, with Krys supporting as second cinematographer, while Raj shaped the final story through the edit, bringing interviews, archive, competition footage and quieter personal moments into one 28-minute arc.
Filming took us into Braulio's world through training, family, competition and ADCC, but throughout the process the visual ambition always had to serve the person at the centre of the film.
The Finished Film
The first real test came when Beyond The Mat played to an audience at the Fighting Spirit Film Festival in London. The film went on to win Best Short Documentary and Audience Choice, with the second award voted for by the people who had watched the films in the cinema. The moment that stayed with us most, though, was seeing Braulio become emotional as he watched his own story unfold on the big screen. The film has since continued its festival journey, including official selection at Birmingham Film Festival 2026, while also becoming an important step in Story & Motion's move into longer form, character-led documentary storytelling.