Céline Roustan

Back in 1996, one of the most popular shows in the US was, of course, Baywatch! Young Patrick Bresnan, who would later become a S/W alum (The Rabbit Hunt, Skip Day), went to a contest held in San Francisco where the winner would get a set visit to Baywatch. Patrick won! The Contestant is an archival film edited with humour that takes us back to the 90s and the fandom of that time.

“Shot in 1996. Edited in 2025.” is how Bresnan describes the film. Bresnan and his friends recorded the contest on Mini VHS, which at this point feels like a time capsule. From seeing David Hasselhoff enter the stage to the crowd going wild, the footage truly takes us back to a different era. He entered the contest as a joke, and that is so obvious from behind the screen, yet against all odds, he actually won, sending him to Los Angeles to be on the set of one of the most culturally influential shows of its time.

Edited by frequent collaborators Ivete Lucas and Ben Petrie, both S/W alums (Lucas having co-directed The Rabbit Hunt with Bresnan, and Petrie with Her Friend Adam), the film expertly uses the footage to capture the energy of the moment rather than focusing on the contest itself in the first part. They build a story by recreating the atmosphere and making the excitement palpable, which ultimately makes Patrick’s win all the more humorous.

In LA, Bresnan managed to shoot some footage on set, offering a unique peek into how the show was made, from its uber-famous actors to the crew. After finding the actual episode he was on set for, Lucas and Petrie cleverly intertwine the VHS footage with the episode itself, anchoring the moment in reality. Bresnan said that the original idea was “pranking David Hasselhoff”, but the film actually turned out to be a beautiful homage to the 90s and its pop culture.

Ahead of its online debut today, The Contestant premiered at the 2025 edition of TIFF and went on to be selected at Montreal’s FNC and Poland’s American Film Festival. With Ivete Lucas, their feature documentary First They Came for My College has been on the festival circuit this year, with more screenings upcoming in the fall. The duo is also working on a narrative feature produced by Ginger Sledge.