By Rook Or By Left Hook(2021)

Akai(ja)

The story of Hidekazu Akai, aka "Osaka Rocky," a legendary Japanese boxer who survived a mortal injury and went on to become a famous actor.

One Meter Democracy(en)

One Meter of Democracy (2010) challenged the endurance of viewers, as well as the courage of the artist. In a quasi-democratic process, He Yunchang invited approximately 20 friends to vote in a secret ballot on whether he should have a surgeon cut a one metre incision the length of his body, from collar bone to knee, without anaesthesia. The vote was carried by a narrow majority, with several abstaining. The performance was documented in video and photographs that reveal the emotional cost of witnessing this gruelling event. This work, sometimes also known as ‘Asking the Tiger for its Skin’ was also staged on a symbolic date: 10 October 2010 was the 99th anniversary of the Wuchang uprising and the Xinhai Revolution which led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. The final image shows the group with sombre, shocked faces.

The Rock Tours Around Great Britain, 2006-2007(en)

The Rock Touring Around Great Britain is a performance piece by Chinese artist He Yunchang that involved a walking circumambulation of Great Britain from September 23, 2006 to June 14, 2007. Starting from the hamlet of Rock, Northumberland, the artist walked to the nearby town of Boulmer where he selected a rock which he then carried counterclockwise until he returned it to the precise location from which it was taken. As the artist commented, the work was primarily "an attempt to represent the iron will of an individual and the living conditions of his being with simple and pure methods."

When We Were Kings(en)

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

Seedbed(en)

“In this legendary sculpture/performance Acconci lay beneath a ramp built in the Sonnabend Gallery. Over the course of three weeks, he masturbated eight hours a day while murmuring things like, "You're pushing your cunt down on my mouth" or "You're ramming your cock down into my ass." Not only does the architectural intervention presage much of his subsequent work, but all of Acconci's fixations converge in this, the spiritual sphincter of his art. In Seedbed Acconci is the producer and the receiver of the work's pleasure. He is simultaneously public and private, making marks yet leaving little behind, and demonstrating ultra-awareness of his viewer while being in a semi-trance state.” – Jerry Saltz (via: http://www.ubu.com/film/acconci_seedbed.html)

Algorithms(en)

Four blind Indian boys compete to become chess masters.

I Am Ali(en)

Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.

In The Pines(id)

This work re-examines the relationship between the elements that make up the quality of space, namely: "subject" and "object", "organic" and "mechanical", "reality" and "representation", "wholeness" and "partiality", " determinacy” and “indeterminacy”, “visibility” and “invisibility”, “natural” and “non-natural”.

Mind Games - The Experiment(en)

Can exercise sharpen the brightest minds? In this ground-breaking experiment, four world-class gamers, competing in eSports, Chess, Mahjong and Memory Games, put this to the test.

The Panther(en)

El Pantera is a documentary film that chronicles the rise of Mexican UFC star Yair Rodriguez as he strives to become the first ever Mexican born UFC champion.

Tommy(en)

Co-directed by Gentry Kirby and Erin Leyden, “Tommy” examines Morrison’s remarkable rise to the spotlight, followed by a stunning, confounding, and ultimately tragic fall. He was one of the best heavyweights of his time; a handsome, charming, yet unsettled young star. Born into a troubled family in America’s heartland, Morrison’s initial emergence as a fighter was bolstered by a starring role in “Rocky V.” A few years later he beat George Foreman for the WBO heavyweight title, and seemed primed for more stardom, even in the face of blown opportunities and upset losses. But everything changed in early 1996 when he tested positive for HIV, abruptly forcing him into retirement at age 27. From there, Morrison’s life spiraled further and further downward, plagued by drug problems, jail time, and an eventual denial that he had the virus at all.

Counterpunch(en)

As boxing's popularity wanes, three fighters at different stages of their career make sacrifices to pursue their dreams of becoming champions.

Tough Guys(en)

10 years before the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation. “Tough Guys” chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Viola’s first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen, breeding desperate men looking for a chance to prove their worth and make some money in the ring.

One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz(en)

'One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz' is a comprehensive look at the night Andy Ruiz pulled off the biggest boxing upset in decades.

Joseph Beuys - Coyote III(en)

DVD accompanying the book "Coyote III", documenting Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik performing at the Sôgetsu Hall in Tokyo on the 2nd of June 1984. Nam June Paik sits on one side of the stage playing European classical music, improvisations and Japanese folk music. On the other side, Joseph Beuys acts out experiences from living in an enclosed space with a coyote - a free man who turns back into an animal, into a form of life that he understands as a prerequisite for this freedom

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest(en)

This video traces the life and career of Muhammad Ali, the man who was born to fight. He started boxing at age 12, and by age 18, had over 100 amateur fights. Starting with his first professional fight, you'll see highlights of all his important fights with opponents such as Archie Moore, Sonny Liston, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes, etc. His fights with Uncle Sam over his conscientious objection to the war and the stripping of his title. His sparring with the press (which he learned to manipulate and use to his advantage) in his many interviews. His religious beliefs that led him to chance his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay to Muhammad Ali. But no matter what name he was called by, "Gassius" Clay or "Motor Mouth," he will always be remembered as a "CHAMPION" in and out of the ring. So sit back and enjoy this one of a kind video. IT'S THE GREATEST!!!

O Artista e a Força do Pensamento(pt)

THE ARTIST AND THE FORCE OF THOUGHT, reflects the relationship between balance and imbalance within the partiality of movement of the dancer Marcos Abranches. It oscillates the body to wake up from the emptiness and isolation caused by the imbalance. The movement's lack of aesthetics is felt by abandonment and rejection, understanding that relief is in the support of love. Investigating body movement in a world without anguish, without pain, without despair. Search for life. Find in dance the balance of the body and the beauty of the soul.

Calzaghe: The Story(en)

Joe Calzaghe is, without question, the greatest British fighter, Ever. And this is his exclusive, all action story of how he fought his way to the top. Now unbeaten in 45 fights Joe has won WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF super middleweight titles during his epic 16 year unblemished career...and beaten absolutely everybody who has been put is his way! This is the Calzaghe Story which brings together his greatest World Title fights along with the exclusive, untold story from two boxing insiders, Frank Warren, and highly respected boxing journalist Colin Hart. These two men, with supreme knowledge of the boxing game, recount their stories about Joe the boxer, the world beater.

Urtain, King of the Mountains(es)

A humorous visit to the turbulent world of the controversial Spanish boxer José Manuel Urtain.

Esquivar y pegar(es)