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SFFILM Festival

A Prayer Before Dawn

Directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

France/UK | 117

15 Apr
Sun, Apr 15, 2018 at 7:30 pm PT

Description

Among gang members, ladyboys, and corrupt guards in an overcrowded Thai prison, heroin addict and bare-knuckle boxer Billy Moore stands out as the only Westerner, and survives the best way he knows how – with his fists. Adapted from Moore’s 2014 memoir, A Prayer Before Dawn is a brutal and relentless drama, with stomach-churning yet graceful fight sequences and an unforgettable performance by UK actor Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders).

“Fists-punching, face-pulping, defiantly, flailingly unknowable, and never willingly sympathetic, young British actor Joe Cole pounds his way through Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s hard-edged Thai prison drama A Prayer Before Dawn. An adaptation of former Liverpool boxer and drug addict Billy Moore’s memoirs, this film makes no concessions, much like its main character. With a visceral feel stretched and pumped by enhanced sound design and a tensile, trance-like score, Sauvaire’s (Johnny Mad Dog) film is destined for cult appreciation and a breakthrough in the remarkable Cole’s career.” – Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily

“At once exhausting and astonishing, this no-holds-barred adaptation of British junkie-turned-pugilist Billy Moore’s Thai prison memoir is a big, bleeding feat of extreme cinema, given elevating human dimension by rising star Joe Cole’s ferociously physical lead performance.” – Guy Lodge, Variety

Director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

In addition to A Prayer Before Dawn, Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire is the director of short films, including La mule (2000) and Matalo! (2005); Carlitos Medellin (2004), a documentary; and Johnny Mad Dog (2008), his debut narrative feature, the winner of the Regard Hope Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Trailer

//player.vimeo.com/video/258416398

Film Details

Language English, Thai

Year 2017

Runtime 117

Country France/UK

Director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

Producer Rita Dagher, Nicholas Simon, Roy Boulter, Sol Papadopoulos

Writer Jonathan Hirschbein, Nick Saltrese

Editor Marc Boucrot

Cinematographer David Ungaro

Music Nicolas Becker

Cast Joe Cole, Billy Moore, Preecha Vithaya