Netflix scoops up Halle Berry's directorial debut 'Bruised' for $20 million

Halle Berry has said that she's 'speechless' after Netflix scooped her directorial debut for a reported $20m (£15.5m).

The movie, called Bruised, was snapped up ahead of its premiere at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival over the weekend, according to Variety.

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: “I am speechless. Thank you @netflix for believing in my vision, cannot wait for y’all to finally see Bruised.”

The movie, in which she also stars, has been a gruelling experience for the Monster's Ball actor.

In it, she plays Jackie Justice, a disgraced MMA fighter who has to fight one of the sport's upcoming stars, while trying to revive her career and care for the son she abandoned.

The movie co-stars real-life UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

Berry broke two ribs filming with Shevchenko, an injury which almost saw her pulling out of the starring role.

She told Variety: “I didn’t want to stop because I had prepared for so long. We had rehearsed; we were ready. So my mind, my director’s mind, was just — keep going.

“And I compartmentalized that, and I just kept going: ‘I’m not going to stop. I’ve come too far. I’m going to act as if this isn’t hurting. I’m going to will myself through it.’ And so we did.”

Per the movie's official synopsis:

“Berry stars as a washed-up MMA fighter struggling for redemption as both an athlete and a mother. Jackie 'Justice' (Berry) has been working multiple jobs and barely scraping by ever since losing an important match years ago. When her boyfriend, Desi (Adan Canto), manages to trick her into going to an underground fight, her passion for the sport is reignited. As Jackie prepares to go back to 'the only thing she is good at,' the son she once abandoned is dropped off at her doorstep. Confronted by her past choices and traumas, Jackie will have to fight to reclaim the two most meaningful things she has walked away from: six-year-old Manny and an MMA title.”