The Cinematic Life of Boxing season announced for BFI Southbank

The Cinematic Life of Boxing is a season of films at BFI Southbank throughout April that capture the essence of a sport that has been as influential on generations of athletes and fans as it has on cinema itself. 

From screenings of Academy Award Best Picture winners Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976) – celebrating its 50th anniversary this year – Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) and Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004), to Best Documentary winner When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996) as well as Body and Soul (Robert Rossen, 1947), The Hurricane (Norman Jewison, 1999), Ali (Michael Mann, 2001), The Fighter (David O. Russell, 2010), Creed (Ryan Coogler, 2015) and many more.

“Some of the greatest works of cinema have mined their themes and narratives from the drama, spectacle and unrivalled emotion of boxing,” says Dr Clive Chijioke Nwonka, BFI Professor in Practice, Associate Professor of Film Culture and Society at University College London and The Cinematic Life of Boxing season curator. “Highly respected as a genre, these films continue to inspire generations of fighters across nations and identities with their compelling portrayals of the perseverance and human struggle associated with the sport.”

This BFI Southbank season brings together some of the finest examples of the boxing genre alongside hidden gems and underappreciated works that span drama, comedy and documentary. Together they explore how cinema, through the lens of boxing, has presented stories of love, triumph, personal struggle, racial injustice, politics, class identity, disability and the human spirit to cement boxing’s place in the pantheon of film.

Launching on 31 March, the season kicks off with the world premiere of documentary Learning the Ropes (2026) followed by a Q&A with director Ryan Pickard, narrator Ray Winstone and former world champion boxer Darren Barker. Repton Boxing Club is recognised as one of the most famous amateur boxing clubs in the world, with alumni including Winstone, Barker, Pickard, Audley Harrison and former world champions John H Stracey, Andy Lee and Maurice Hope. Through this candid portrait of Tony Burns, the club’s legendary former head coach, Pickard presents a singular account of his impact on the institution’s boxers past and present. 

Other events taking place throughout the season will include a Q&A on 14 April with former world champion and Boxing Hall of Fame boxer Barry McGuigan, who famously trained actor Daniel Day-Lewis for his remarkable turn in The Boxer (Jim Sheridan, 1997) which we also screen on the night, plus a Q&A with actor and writer Johnny Harris on 16 April following Jawbone (Thomas Q. Napper, 2017), a Q&A with director Shane Meadows on 21 April following Twentyfourseven (1997), a Q&A with former boxer and renowned coach Jimmy Tibbs and his son, former boxer and now coach Mark Tibbs on 28 April following Fighters (Ron Peck, 1991), and a discussion on gender in boxing with broadcaster and athlete Jeanette Kwakye and boxing writer Ruth Rapper on 15 April following Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004). More events are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Further films playing in the season will include Body and Soul (Robert Rossen, 1947), The Hurricane (Norman Jewison, 1999), Ali (Michael Mann, 2001) and The Fighter (David O. Russell, 2010), all playing from 35mm prints, plus Rocco and His Brothers (Luchino Visconti, 1960), Fat City (John Huston, 1972), 50th anniversary screenings of Rocky, Raging Bull, When We Were Kings, Creed, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki(2016), Journeyman (Paddy Considine, 2017) and the UK premiere of The Featherweight (2023), Robert Kolodny’s impressive faux-documentary. Many screenings will also include introductions, with further details to be announced.

The Cinematic Life of Boxing is at BFI Southbank from 30 March to 30 April. Tickets for screenings and events are on sale to BFI Patrons on 9 March, BFI Members on 10 March, and to the general public on 12 March.