Boxing documentary profiles are a dime a dozen, but Jake Oleson's gritty profile breaks through the noise via beautiful style and kinetic action. A young boxer guides his protégé through his past growing up in the South Side of Chicago. Oleson leans into the underdog and inspirational tropes of the genre, but emerges on the other side with something genuinely heartfelt and inspiring.

A featured short film on Short of the Week:
https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2019/0...

"When dealing with familiar material like this, it’s so easy to overdo it, to lean on the crutch of saccharinity, which, ultimately, could result in the opposite effect and evoke a sense of falseness. Oleson manages to toe the line, showing restraint when necessary. He avoids traditional talkinghead interviews, instead, relying on naturalistic voiceover from the protagonist, most of which was built around a conversation between Ivry and one of his students. Moreover, the film just doesn’t feel orchestrated. It’s hard to say whether this is because of Oleson’s deft directorial hand (again, the film is gorgeous to look at) or Ivry’s innate warmth and authenticity even as he performs scripted scenes, but, regardless of its cause, it’s impossible to deny that the final result is technically beautiful and emotionally moving." S/W Curator, Ivan Kander

Featuring:
Ivry Hall
Elijah Tribitt
Elizabeth Talbert
Anaisha Johnson
Tina Colonna
Tremaine Wilson
Sahid Wilson
Oscar Ochoa

Director/Editor: Jake Oleson
Director of Photography: David Vollrath
Producer: Jon Melton
Executive Producer: Andrew Simkiss
Executive Producer: Matt McLaughlin
Head of Production: Julie Hershan
Local Fixer: Zack Stoner
Local Fixer: Tony Woods

Sound Design/Mix: Bobb Barito
Composer: Jay Wadley
Colorist: Mikey Rossiter
Post Producer Evan Bauer

Steadicam Operator: Blaine Baker
Gaffer: Igor Cedeno
Production Sound Mixer: Scott Palmer
Assistant Camera: Doug Durant
Assistant Camera: Cory Solon
Set Production Assistant: Marlon Bracamontes
Lighting by: AsteraLEDs.com

Special Thanks:
Sally Hazelgrove, JeanMarc, Acres New York, Crushers Club, Golden Gloves Chicago, Michelle Keim Photography, Ms, Liz, Tailor’s Row, Kodak, Fotokem, Martin Taube, TCS, Doug Durant, Jonathan LannazzoSimmons, Camera Ambassador, Panavision Chicago, FilmGear Chicago, Voyager Creative, Han Yan, Becky Di Lallo, Chris Tharp, Chicagoland Truck Rental

Dedicated to Zack Stoner

Reproduced on this channel with the permission of the creator.