“Constant Battles” showcases Iranian-Canadian boxer’s journey

Nyousha Nakhjiri won’t be in the crowd when her story is shown on the big screen for the first time. 

Instead, she’ll be competing at the World Boxing Cup in Brazil.

“Constant Battles” is a new documentary on how the Canadian boxer got to this point in her career. It will make its world premiere at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto on Saturday. 

“I do wish I was able to come to the premiere. It definitely would have been a cool experience to be there,” Nakhjiri said on a video call from Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. “But this is an amazing opportunity. And it definitely fits within the story.”

Directed by Vancouver-based filmmaker Mack Stannard, “Constant Battles” follows the Iranian-born athlete’s quest to represent Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Woven into the story is her journey with ADHD and her exploration of her dual Canadian-Iranian identity. 

Knowing the 38-minute-long film is about to be out in the world “feels amazing,” Stannard said.

“I think both Nyousha and I feel like we were different people when we started the film,” he said. “So it’s kind of kind of cool to be showing it in that different point in your life and your journey and your career.”

Stannard first reached out to Nakhjiri after hearing about her from a friend.

“Then the more Nyousha and I started chatting, the more we realized we had in common around performance anxiety and just having anxiety in general,” he said. 

“And it wasn’t until almost a year later, when we were actually making the film, that I ended up getting diagnosed with ADHD as well. So, I mean, I learned a lot from (Nyousha) through making this film.”

The film showcases Nakhjiri’s inner struggles, from how ADHD impacts her training to the internal pressure bubbling within, and how she navigates it all between wins and losses inside the ring.

The 29-year-old boxer, who is 5-0 in her professional matches, believes she learned a lot about herself over the course of filming, and has a different mentality toward competing today. 

“I’m not putting a ton of expectation as to, like, ‘I have to win this tournament, or I have to win the World Championships, or go to the Olympics,’ or anything like that,” she said. “I’m kind of just taking it as one step at a time. 

“And I think my whole journey throughout the documentary kind of taught me a little bit to not be so focused on the angle that really I’m missing the whole journey, basically.”

Filming “Constant Battles” also gave Nakhjiri new perspective on her mother, Elehah, who speaks in the documentary about why she insisted on emigrating from Iran when Nyousha was a child. 

Elehah talks about how she was imprisoned as a teenager for her activism against the Islamic Republic, and how she refused to allow her daughter to grow up in a country where she could be persecuted based on her gender. 

“I think when it comes to standing up for what you believe in, when it comes to doing what’s right, and having empathy, really standing up for your beliefs, I think I get a lot of that from my mom,” Nakhjiri said. “Maybe it’s not so much of a direct translation to boxing, but I feel like we have a very similar spirit when it comes to that.”

With Iran currently locked in a war with the United States, the documentary has become uniquely timely. 

“I think there’s never enough voices to echo the Iranian people and Iranian women,” Nakhjiri said. “So it feels special to have this documentary come out during this time.”

“Constant Battles” will be screened twice at Hot Docs, and plans are in the works to show it in Vancouver, too, where Nakhjiri can see her story on the big screen. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.