Tuckman Media will release The Featherweight, the directorial debut of Emmy Award winner Robert Kolodny (cinematographer on Procession and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed), telling the true story of legendary two-time world featherweight boxing champion Willie Pep.
The impressive cast is led by James Madio (Penguin, Band of Brothers), who gives a career-best performance as Pep, along with Ruby Wolf in her feature film debut, Keir Gilchrist (Love & Death, Atypical), Stephen Lang (Avatar franchise), Ron Livingston (The Flash, Loudermilk), Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (The Walking Dead, One Night in Miami), undefeated professional featherweight boxer Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Hartford native Imma Aiello in her own big-screen debut as Mama Papaleo, Willie Pep’s mother.
The film hits theaters in Pep’s home state of Connecticut on September 20. It had its world premiere last year at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where the film received a six-minute standing ovation, and currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Set in the mid-1960s in Hartford, Connecticut, The Featherweight is a gripping chapter in the true story of Italian-American boxer Willie Pep (James Madio)—the most decorated boxer of all time—who, in his mid-40s and with his personal life in disarray, decides to return to the ring, at which point a film crew steps in. Meticulously researched and constructed, the film is a compelling portrait of the discontent with masculinity, fame, and self-esteem in 20th-century America.
Many of the film’s executive producers are from Connecticut, including Dan Adams, Greg Butler, Donna Collins, Mark Contreras, Manon Cox, Angelo DeFazio, Robert Feiner, Karl Krapek, Alan Lazowski, Robert Patricelli and John Wolfson. Hartford producer Joe Youthful was an associate producer. The film was fully supported by George Norfleet and Mark Dixon of the State Film Office and state representative James Sanchez. The production was supported and endorsed by former Mayor Luke Bronin and Governor Ned Lamont.
The film was shot at local institutions such as Pratalona Social Club, The Hartford Club, The Polish National Home, The West Indian Social Club, Carbone’s, Hartford PAL Gym on Broad Street, Four Ropes Boxing, and Bushnell Park, to name a few.
Real Art Ways will host a preview screening of the film on September 18. Also on September 18, Charter Oak Boxing Academy (COBA) — where James Madio trained for the role of Pep and where much of the fight choreography was rehearsed — will host a press conference with select cast and producers at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Willie Pep mural on Pope Park Highway. Producers and cast will also visit various filming locations throughout the day to promote the film’s September 20 premiere.
After premiering at the Venice Film Festival, The Featherweight toured internationally, including the Provincetown International Film Festival, where Kolodny received the John Schlesinger Award for Best Director of a Feature Film. The film was praised for its technical aspects, re-creating the 1960s in rich detail and interspersing staged and archival boxing footage, telling the story through the prism of a documentary crew following Pep as he comes out of retirement and returns to the ring. Madio prepared for the role by training with John “The Iceman” Scully, who had known Pep for over 30 years and had been trained by one of Pep’s training partners, Joe Barile. Scully put Madio through months of training so he could capture Pep’s techniques and moves.
“It’s thrilling to bring The Featherweight to audiences, a film that our outstanding cast and exceptional crew have so diligently poured their hearts into. Willie Pep’s story is an all-American tale, full of great highs and terrible lows. He is not only a world-class boxer on the brink of collapse, but also the quintessential mid-century man, with all his flaws and cracks exposed for the camera,” said Kolodny.
Executive producer Donna Collins of Rocky Hill stated, “Bringing The Featherweight to our beloved Hartford is a case study in how filming can create community pride, honor the legacy of a hometown hero and provide local economic impact. This is more than just a film production, it’s a community collaboration.”
“Producers have been trying to bring Willie Pep’s story to the substantial screen for decades, and we are thrilled and honored to finally do it. Pep has the most wins in boxing history, and most have never heard of him. We hope The Featherweight will change that while cementing his legacy as one of the greatest to ever have it,” added writer/producer Steve Loff.
Loff (Desert Rain) wrote and produced alongside Madio, Bennett Elliot, Robert Greene (who also edited the film), Asger Hussain and Abhayanand Singh. Two-time Oscar nominee Steve James, Jennifer Davisson, Michael Hampton, Brian Liebman and Mark Hantoot also serve as executive producers.
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