Naïve and as eager to box as he is to bake bread in his small hometown of Kokkola, Olli Mäki is a man who simply appreciates what he’s been given in life. When he’s given the chance to fight on the big stage—the World Boxing Association featherweight championship—he not only is skeptical that he can beat the great American boxer Davy Moore, but he also realizes that he’s fallen deeply in love.
Confronted by a manager who promises to make the fight “a spectacle never seen in Finland,” made anxious by a documentary crew tailing him day and night, and trying desperately to lose enough weight just to qualify, Olli has to take a step back and come to terms with what he truly wants—a life in the ring or out? Winner of the Un Certain Regard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Finland’s official submission to the 89th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Director’s Biography
Juho Kuosmanen: Juho Kuosmanen was born in 1979 in the small Finnish town of Kokkola. He graduated from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2014. His debut film, The Painting Sellers, was nominated for five Finnish film Academy Awards.
Sponsored by: