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.
Monday, April 21
The Screening Room
6:00pm
More in Documentary
-
A Promise of Paradise
Thomas Machowicz
United States, 2025, 15 min.In A Promise of Paradise, the quiet fields of Oklahoma become the backdrop for an unexpected moral awakening. Dan Peterson—a Vietnam veteran and... more ›
-
Fears of a Clown
Bart Vandever
United States, 2026, 90 min.Meet Steve: a fast talking, foul mouthed entertainer with East Coast grit and a brilliant, unique mind. After a lifetime of battling severe OCD, Steve poured... more ›
-
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 ›