New Brunswick Film Went Around The World During The Pandemic
SAINT JOHN-Local filmmaker, actor, and author Jeffrey Kelley’s film The Pugilist, released in 2020, has kept its buzz going during Covid-19 while also showcasing the film potential of New Brunswick.
The film, adapted from a short film based on one of Kelley’s short stories, is about an aging boxer (played by Kelley) who continues to fight despite having Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition that prevents the regeneration of neural pathways after trauma to the head.
“The way I’ve described this to people is it’s really not a Rocky story – it’s a story about the other guy,” says Kelley. “Everyone wants to tell the Rocky story, and they’re great movies, but no one ever wants to say what happened to the rest of them, the guys that didn’t beat those one-in-a-million odds.”
During the shoot, Kelley befriended Alan Blyweiss, a former sparring partner for pro boxers like Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, and Lennox Lewis. Blyweiss’ career ended when he was diagnosed with probable CTE.
“He helped me quite a lot with understanding the perspective of a fighter going through this [condition],” Kelley said. He explained the film goes to the ground level of how the protagonist’s CTE diagnosis affects him, his family, and the people around him, rather than taking a clinical approach to the disease.
“When he eventually did see the film his feedback to me was that he had cried and was quite grateful and his wife had as well, because this was the first time that he knew of, and the first time I knew of, where anyone explored this from the athlete’s perspective.”
The Pugilist began shooting in late 2018, wrapped up production in early March 2020, and had its premiere prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kelley shared that the film cost around $250,000 to make.
“We [New Brunswick] used to have a very nice tax credit years ago and it was taken away,” he said. “That was one thing that drew me away from film and into other avenues because it was just hard to make a movie here.”
Many Saint John businesses and boxing clubs came out and supported The Pugilist, including Archstone Physiotherapy and Wellness, KV Boxing Club, and the Oromocto Boxing Club. Other integral sponsors include global brands Everlast Canada and Ringside Boxing And MMA Equipment Canada.
“It was interesting because I was rejected from the government because I was told nobody would care about this story, that’s point blank what I was told,” he said, adding he then reached out to Everlast Canada, who immediately got on board the project. “There was a thirst for someone to tell the story of the athlete.”
The Pugilist was filmed entirely in the Saint John, Oromocto and Kennebecasis Valley areas, and its cast and crew were all New Brunswick residents, including cinematographers Ian Estey and Jon Blizzard.
“It was really a homegrown local project,” said Kelley. “I think in a lot of ways it was a missed opportunity for the government because we could have raised the production values a little higher and gone a little further in showing just how creative the people in this area are.”
The film screened at the BMO Studio Theatre in September 2020 and screened at multiple film festivals throughout 2021, including Lift-Off Film Festivals in Toronto, London, Sydney, and Los Angeles, the Boston Independent Film Awards, the Austin International Art Festival, and the Cannes International Cinema Festival.
Kelley says after a distribution plan is made for The Pugilist, he will launch a fundraiser for a sequel to the film and begin work on another feature film, a paranormal thriller.
Elizabeth MacLeod is a Saint John reporter with Huddle and Acadia Broadcasting radio stations. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].