QUEST TO AIR BRITISH TV PREMIERE OF FEATURE LENGTH FILM “I AM ALI”
“Lewins’ film provides all the evidence needed to convince doubters – if there are any – that Ali transcends his sport and remains, indisputably, the greatest personality in boxing history”
The Independent
“The word ‘icon’ is overused but as this charming Muhammad Ali portrait shows,
occasionally it’s utterly warranted”
Empire
TX: Friday November 6th, 9pm, exclusively on Quest
This November, and for the first time on British TV screens, Quest will premiere the intimate and heart-warming portrait of arguably one of the greatest American legends of our time – Muhammad Ali.
“I Am Ali”, the much lauded documentary film previously only available on limited cinema release, is told through exclusive, unprecedented access to Ali’s personal archive of ‘audio journals’ combined with touching interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends, including his daughters, sons, ex-wife and brother, his late trainer Angelo Dundee, plus legends of the boxing community including Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Marvin Frazier, son of Joe and long-time business manager Gene Kilroy.
Boxing legend, African American hero and beloved father, Muhammad Ali, now 72 and suffering from the debilitating Parkinson’s disease, Ali’s story is told from the inside for the very first time.
The film presents a heart-warming narrative around never-heard before tape recordings from the legend himself, mostly made in the late 1970s, in which the champion speaks to his children, playfully, affectionately, and assures them such “audio journals” will one day be part of history.
“I Am Ali” is ultimately the story of Cassius Clay to a modern cultural icon : from his birth and boxing beginnings in Louisville, Kentucky to gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics; from beating Henry Cooper at Wembley to beating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world; from changing his religion and his name to going into exile after refusing the draft for Vietnam. It is the story of Muhammad Ali’s great 1970s fights, the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman in Zaire and the Thriller in Manilla against the mighty Joe Frazier. It is the story of his final bout at 39, a defeat by Trevor Berbick in the Bahamas. It is, briefly, the story of his life after the ring.
“I Am Ali” is a Fisheye Films production, written, produced and directed by British film maker Clare Lewins, and co-produced by George Chignell and Greg Hobden.