Browse films

A Fighting Heart

Des Kilbane
Republic of Ireland, 2013, 57 min.

In English.
This film is family friendly.

Best Sports Documentary, Celtic Media Festival 2014

A Fighting Heart tells the epic story of Irish-American Johnny Kilbane, poet, politician and longest reigning World-Featherweight Champion of all time. Featuring newly-discovered archive footage, it's the rags-to-riches story of Kilbane's tough early life growing up in The Angle on Cleveland Ohio's Westside, his love of vaudeville, his chance discovery as a boxer and elevation to World Boxing Champion in 1912. The film charts the highs and lows in the life of a boxing legend as well as the equally fascinating story of Kilbane's post-boxing career where his resilience against all the challenges that life throws at him shines through.

Category: Documentary.
Themes: Sports, Biography, Historical, Politics, Irish Cinema.

More in Documentary

  • The Nest

    The Nest

    Derek Brown
    United States, 2025, 17 min.

    Inside Bronx International High School, a sanctuary for New York's most vulnerable youth, an immigrant community bands together to create a better future... more ›

  • Going for Home

    Going for Home

    Eric Simonson
    United States, 2026, 83 min.

    After the devastating Eaton Canyon fire leaves families displaced, a Little League team becomes an unlikely anchor—carrying a fractured community through... more ›

  • Becoming Benjamin Lay

    Becoming Benjamin Lay

    Tony Buba
    United States, 2026, 55 min.

    In the documentary Becoming Benjamin Lay, director Tony Buba and historian Marcus Rediker explore the life and ideas of an unknown radical Quaker... more ›