Ariana Berlin Movie Airs Aug. 9
August 06, 2015 | Gymnastics
The movie, which was filmed in 2014, stars Ana Golja (Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Berlin and Jennifer Beals (Flashdance) as UCLA Gymnastics head coach Valorie Kondos Field. Several Bruins can be seen in the movie as well. Berlin has a role as a coach and was also Golja's stunt double. Aisha Gerber, one of Berlin's UCLA teammates, was the stunt double for the supporting character Isla. Kondos Field has a role as a TV announcer, and UCLA Olympians Samantha Peszek and Jordyn Wieber have cameos.
Berlin came to UCLA as a walk-on in 2006 who had been out of the sport for nearly five years due to a near-fatal car accident. Unable to compete in gymnastics, she turned to hip-hop dancing, where she met Kondos Field while dancing at SeaWorld. Kondos Field granted her a walk-on spot on the UCLA team, intending just to have her do floor exhibition dance-throughs with little to no tumbling. By the time Berlin finished her Bruin career, she had competed in every single meet and became a four-time All-American and the 2009 Pac-12 Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Players Mentioned
