DN354: An English Boxer Fights to Survive a Brutal Thai Prison in Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s ‘A Prayer Before Dawn’

Directors Notes

I first spoke to Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire at the London Film Festival back in 2012 about his troubled teenage angst feature Punk and had the pleasure of catching up with the French Director once again at this year’s festival to discuss A Prayer Before Dawn – his latest skirmish into the world of violence, which recounts the harrowing true story of Billy Moore, an English boxer incarcerated for three years in one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons.

A Prayer Before Dawn (2017)

The remarkable true story of Billy Moore, a young English boxer incarcerated for 3 years in one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons. He is quickly thrown into a world of drugs and gang violence, but when the prison authorities allow him to take part in the Muay Thai boxing tournaments, Billy realizes that this is his only hope for survival.

I immediately fell in love with this guy because he’s violent in a certain way but really sensitive and vulnerable also.

https://archive.org/download/DN354APrayerBeforeDawnJeanStephaneSauvaire/DN354APrayerBeforeDawnJeanStephaneSauvaire.mp3

For more, be sure to check out DN’s full 2017 London Film Festival coverage.