Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story (Filmmaker in Attendance for Q&A)

What kind of woman do you become when your dad’s “The Butcher”, your uncle is a “Mad Dog” and your godfather is André “The Giant”? … A LUNATIC!

LUNATIC is the story of Canadian-American women’s wrestler-turned WWF villain, Trudy Vachon. But you may know her best as the leather studded, growly voiced, mohawk wearing in-ring persona, Luna ‘The Lunatic’ Vachon.

Raised in Montreal by a family of wrestling legends, wrestling was her first love. And like most first loves, her parents weren’t thrilled that their little girl fell so deep. Reaching the peak of her fame in the 90s, she paved the way for a new generation of women wrestlers and started a global movement which put womenon a more level playing field and earned them as much respect as their male counterparts. Luna aimed to be the biggest, baddest wrestling villain that ever lived. But despite her successes, both her stage persona and reality started to blur. The guilt of abandoning her two sons to pursue her dream job, being diagnosed as bipolar, abuse, and addiction would prove too much. While the crowd yelled out ‘Lunatic’ to her in-ring heel character, little did they know a dark cloud of mental health struggles plagued her in real-life.

Director Kate Kroll and guests including wrestlers Raven Lake and Nicole Matthews in attendance for post-screening Q&A.

Wednesday, November 26
Doors 5:45 pm | Movie 6:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Tickets HERE

LUNATIC: The Luna Vachon Story (Kate Kroll, 2025 / 116 mins / NR) The story of WWF villain, Luna Vachon. Raised by a family of wrestling legends, wrestling was her first love. Reaching the peak of her fame in the 90s, Luna’s biggest hurdle was challenging the mainstream wrestling industry and their view on women at that time.


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The story of WWF villain, Luna Vachon. Raised by a family of wrestling legends, wrestling was her first love. Reaching the peak of her fame in the 90s, Luna’s biggest hurdle was challenging the mainstream wrestling industry and their view on women at that time She aimed to be the biggest, baddest wrestling villain that ever lived. But despite her successes, both her stage persona and reality started to blur. The guilt of abandoning her two sons to pursue her dream job, being diagnosed as bipolar, abuse, and addiction would prove too much. While the crowd yelled out ‘Lunatic’ to her in-ring heel character, little did they know a dark cloud of mental health struggles plagued her in real-life.

About The Rio

Voted the #1 Independent Theatre in Vancouver, the Rio Theatre is a multimedia venue featuring arthouse, mainstream and cult-classic cinemas as well as live entertainment. Built in 1938, the Rio has been fully restored with a state of the art digital projector, surround sound, a huge stage and 420 luxurious seats.

1660 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Phone: 604.879.3456

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