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Emmy award-winning documentarian Diane Zander examines a year in the life of 13-year-old Texas schoolgirl Tara Neal and her trials and tribulations as a competitive youth wrestler. Due to legal restrictions regarding coed wrestling at the secondary educational level in the Lone Star state, Tara is essentially competing in her final year as a wrestler. As she travels to numerous tournaments, the young Austin native is forced to face a number of cruel realities ranging from dealing with her own rapidly maturing body to participating in a sport that is rife with sexual discrimination and chauvinism. Director Zander places the youngster's journey into the larger context of gender equality as the filmmaker examines Tara's conflicts as examples of the enduring struggles the feminist movement continues to confront. Girl Wrestler premiered as an official film in competition at the 2003 South by Southwest Film Festival.