The Featherweight

Set in 1964, a direct cinema camera crew follows Willie Pep, retired two-time world featherweight boxing champion. Now living in Hartford Connecticut with his wife Linda (Ruby Wolf) an aspiring actress half his age, a drug-addled son (Keir Gilchrist), his Italian immigrant parents, mounting debts and the feeling of faded glory… Pep decides to make a return to the ring.[3]

• James Madio as Willie Pep[4]
• Ruby Wolf as Linda Pep[5]
• Keir Gilchrist as Billy Papaleo Jr.[5]
• Stephen Lang as Bill Gore[5]
• Ron Livingston as Bob Kaplan[6]
• Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Sandy Saddler[5]
• Shari Albert as Fran[7]
• Imma Aiello as "Mama" Papaleo[7]

Filming occurred in Hartford, Connecticut in late 2021, utilizing real locations from Willie Pep's life.[8] Kolodny cast both professional actors and locals to heighten the nonfiction aesthetic of the film.[9] Aside from Robert Kolodny, who spent the years as a documentary cinematographer on films like Procession and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the team behind the film involved several celebrated filmmakers from the documentary community, including Steve James as executive producer and Robert Greene as editor.

The film received a five minute standing ovation at its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.[10] It received critical praise with indiewire comparing the cinéma vérité to John Cassavetes[11] and Dana Thomas calling it a "mash-up Mean Streets and Raging Bull" in The Style Files.[12]

The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on five reviews.[13]

• The Featherweight at IMDb