IMTA Alum Sean Faris is “Forever Strong“

Rugby-themed feature based on true story

Rugby football was first introduced to the United States by English soldiers and immigrants in the mid-1800s. While never reaching the level of a national pastime, American interest in rugby has varied over the years, remaining popular in high schools and colleges and reaching a high point when the US won gold at the 1924 Olympics—the last time rugby was an Olympic sport. A new feature film starring NY99 IMTA alum Sean Faris aims to rekindle attention on the sport in the way Bend It Like Beckham did for soccer.

In Forever Strong, Faris stars as Rick Penning, a guy who lives life like he plays rugby—fast, hard-hitting and intense. When a near-fatal crash lands him in jail, he is offered the opportunity to play for Highland Rugby, a rival of his home team, in exchange for a shortened time behind bars. He forms an unlikely bond with his new teammates just he as is released from jail and sent back home to rejoin his former team, coached by his overbearing father. Heading into a face-off with Highland at the National Championship, Rick is forced to choose where his loyalty lies. Forever Strong also stars Sean Astin, Neal McDonough, Gary Cole, Penn Badgley, and Faris’ co-star in the upcoming Brooklyn to Manhattan, Arielle Kebbel.

Forever Strong recently received a Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award, an award that honors films with stories that display courage, integrity and hope, and recognizes filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life. Forever Strong joins a long list of inspirational films that have received the award from the non-profit Heartland organization, including such classics as Forrest Gump and The Shawshank Redemption.

No specific release date has been set for Brooklyn to Manhattan, Faris’ recently completed thriller in which he is one of four young people who must run for their lives through New York subway tunnels after a botched drug deal. The cast includes Kebbel, Dania Ramirez and Rob Mayes. Filming got underway this month in Ireland for Ghost Machine, a supernatural thriller in which Faris plays a thrill-seeking military technician and computer-game enthusiast who, along with cohort Luke Ford, recklessly smuggles a top-secret, virtual warfare training program out of their base and into a spooky disused jail, while a vengeful spirit infiltrates the software and draws them into an all-too-real game of life and death. Rachel Taylor and Richard Dormer also star. Faris’ has also been in production with The Glass Eye, a feature film in which he not only stars, but is co-producing with his manager—and long-time IMTA colleague—Dino May. Faris plays Danny, a young “guerilla journalist” with a video camera, who stalks a serial killer with the intent of catching him "live on tape"—only to have the tables turned and Danny becoming the prime suspect. No release date for The Glass Eye has been announced.