Fight or Flight (documentary)
Encyclopedia
Fight or Flight is a 2007 documentary film produced by Peter J McCarthy
and directed by McCarthy and Shane Sutton
. The film won "Best Foreign Documentary" at the Long Island Film Festival as well as "Best Documentary" at festivals in Hamburg, Toronto and California. The film took over five years to make and was first premiered at the DocNz International film festival in Auckland, New Zealand in October 2007. It is based on a man's journey into the heart of Thai boxing or Muay Thai
boxing in Thailand
. The film was funded by the Irish Film Board
. The production involved two years of travelling throughout Thailand's ring fighting
scene. Fight or Flight was in production at the same time Ong Bak was released. Fight or Flight is being broadcast in 2010 on Halogen TV (USA), Viasat (Scandinavia & Eastern Europe) and Filmmaster (Italy).
in Krs Gym prior to Ole setting up the Legacy Gym.
The producers ventured to Cannes Film Festival
and also Mipcom
where they met with distributors and broadcasters with the intention of getting a contract signed. It was then decided at a later stage to self distribute on the http://www.fightorflight.tv website.
Peter J McCarthy
Peter J McCarthy, an award winning Irish filmmaker, producer, photographer and oil painter. Managing Director of Good Dog Films Limited t/a fightorflight.tv and gooddogfilms.com . Peter has produced and directed works in conjunction with the Irish Film Board, Arts Council and has appeared on CBS...
and directed by McCarthy and Shane Sutton
Shane Sutton
Shane Edwin Sutton OBE is a British Cycling coach, former Welsh national cycling coach and professional racing cyclist. Sutton was one of the four men to win gold for Australia at the 1978 Commonwealth Games along with his brother, Gary Sutton...
. The film won "Best Foreign Documentary" at the Long Island Film Festival as well as "Best Documentary" at festivals in Hamburg, Toronto and California. The film took over five years to make and was first premiered at the DocNz International film festival in Auckland, New Zealand in October 2007. It is based on a man's journey into the heart of Thai boxing or Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
boxing in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. The film was funded by the Irish Film Board
Irish Film Board
The Irish Film Board is Ireland’s national film agency and major film funding body. It was recommended for abolition by the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes in 2009.-Formative years:...
. The production involved two years of travelling throughout Thailand's ring fighting
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
scene. Fight or Flight was in production at the same time Ong Bak was released. Fight or Flight is being broadcast in 2010 on Halogen TV (USA), Viasat (Scandinavia & Eastern Europe) and Filmmaster (Italy).
Description
Not for the faint hearted, Fight or Flight is a feature film based on an epic journey of one man's experience in Thailand’s notorious ring-fighting scene, an adventure which saw a production time of over five years. Two of which were spent travelling throughout Thailand’s most remote locations where we followed this man's plight and journey to understand the underlying cause of conflict within himself and mankind. Fight or Flight premiered at the DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival, New Zealand in September 2007. Fight or Flight can be looked at as a psychological study, a martial arts film and an Odyssey of modern day man.Awards
- Best Foreign Documentary: Long Island Film Festival 2009
- Best Documentary: Radar Hamburg International Film Festival 2008
- Best Documentary for Artistic Expression: Temecula Film Festival in California 2008
- Best Documentary "Making a Difference Award" : Commffest Toronto 2008
- Best Feature Films Showcase: Moving Image Film Festival 2008
- Nominated for MAMA Awards: MAMA Awards Ireland 2008
- Nominated for Best Documentary: BIFF Wisconsin 2008
- Nominated for Best Editing at the IFTA Awards - Shane Sutton 2009
- Winning: The Beloit International Film Festival Fund for Emerging Filmmakers 2009
Production
Production took place in the following gyms: Lanna Muay Thai, Fairtex in Bangkok, world muay thai camp on Samui and KRS gym in Ubon Ratchatani. The subject of the documentary trained with Ole Baguio LaursenOle Laursen
Ole 'Iron Fist' Laursen is a Danish welterweight Muay Thai kickboxer and lightweight mixed martial artist, fighting out of Ubon Ratchatani, Thailand.-Biography:...
in Krs Gym prior to Ole setting up the Legacy Gym.
The producers ventured to Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
and also Mipcom
Mipcom
-MIPCOM:MIPCOM is a TV and entertainment market which is held in the town of Cannes once every year, normally in October.It is essentially a content event for co-producing, buying, selling, financing and distributing entertainment content...
where they met with distributors and broadcasters with the intention of getting a contract signed. It was then decided at a later stage to self distribute on the http://www.fightorflight.tv website.