With their feature debut, Backspot, D.W. Waterson has made a gripping and tender coming-of-age story about the world of competitive cheerleading. The film premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, September 8.

The story centres around Riley (Devery Jacobs), a teenager who makes the cut for an elite cheer team alongside her girlfriend, Amanda (Kudakwashe Rutendo), and friend, Rachel (Noa DiBerto). As the pressure of a looming competition mounts, Riley begins to crumble under the weight of her own expectations, as well as the pressure from her coach, Eileen (Evan Rachel Wood), to perform a perfect routine.

While Backspot is far from the first film about cheerleading, Waterson wanted to shed a different light on the sport. "We all know what the stereotype of cheer is, which is pompoms and smiles and usually lots of comedy. But we wanted to focus more on the grittiness, where they pound a box of Krispy Kremes then flip the switch to training mode and start throwing their bodies into the air," Waterson explains. "And I love the juxtaposition of makeup and bows and broken arms and concussion helmets."

Like many Canadians, Waterson comes from a hockey household, which served as the initial spark for the movie. "Everything is hockey, hockey, hockey. My brother was a hockey player and my dad was his coach, and I feel like that affected our family dynamic so much, which is something that I hated growing up," they say. "Looking back on it, I was very curious about the impact that sports had on us, so that was the beginning point for me."

Waterson is also a DJ and drummer who has been known to rock a cheerleading uniform while performing. "It's freeing and always amped up the crew. People love it," they say. "And cheer also has that crossover with electronic music. It's high-intensity and it's fast-paced."

As it turns out, Waterson's experience as a DJ has helped them as a filmmaker, too. "At the end of the day, you're the party starter," they explain. "If you're having a good time, everybody else stays on that vibe. You have to know when to bring the energy up on set and when to settle everybody down. You're the captain."

"It's all rhythm. It's the rhythm of the room. It's the rhythm of the group. You have to be reading the room constantly."

Waterson may have been the captain on set, but ultimately, their favourite part of filmmaking is the collaboration process. "I am an actor's director through and through," they say. "I love casting and then working together on set and making magic with them."

Another major collaborator on the film is executive producer Elliot Page and his production company Page Boy.

"He got involved maybe two and a half years ago," says Waterson. "He's a big fan of [Devery Jacobs' show] Reservation Dogs, so we had a general meeting with him and Matt Jordan Smith. Devery brought up Backspot. And shortly thereafter they came on board."

"They've been absolutely incredible to work with. People always say they're lifting up queer voices, but, like, Elliot is actually doing that."

And Backspot is extremely queer both onscreen and off, as most of the cast and crew are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. "I love to see a positive queer relationship," says Waterson. "It was really important to me that it wasn't a coming-out story. The queerness in the film is not the conflict. The conflict is, 'Who's your mentor and are they mentoring you properly?' The conflict is the pressure that young people put on themselves."

In that way, Backspot is also a story that explores mental health. In the film, Riley struggles with trichotillomania, an anxiety-induced compulsion to pull out her hair, specifically her eyebrows.

"I have experiences with trichotillomania and I know it affects a lot of young women," says Waterson. "It feels like something that is not spoken about and there's a lot of shame around it."

"Being a teen, I feel like you're experiencing everything for the first time. Emotions are very overwhelming and you don't have the cognition and development to be able to talk fluidly about what's going on. We all develop habits in our teen years of how we cope with anxiety."

"Most of the time when you see a character onscreen having an anxiety attack, you're outside of it. I used macro lenses and a lot of sound design to make it feel like we are in the experience with Riley to give the audience that empathetic connection with her."

Despite some of its heavier themes, the film still has a lot of joyful moments throughout, plus slumber parties, snacks, and friendship. "The sleepover scene was inspired by Devery Jacobs, who used to be a champion gymnast. They would always have gym sleepovers, running around slamming junk food and then falling asleep on a trampoline," says Waterson.

As Waterson prepares to premiere Backspot at TIFF, they want audiences to have a good time watching the film. "And hopefully people feel like doing some backflips and talking to a therapist. After making it, that's my goal — go to the gym and go to therapy."