The 2017 Cannes Film Fest was of a great year for films full of non-actors. Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” introduced us to the excellent talents of Brooklynn Prince and Bria Vinaite. Then Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” uniquely told South Dakota cowboy Brady Jandreau’s real-life story with him playing a fictional version of himself. And, hiding out in the midnight screening section this year was Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s prison drama “A Prayer Before Dawn.” The only recognizable name among the cast is “Peaky Blinders” and “Black Mirror” actor Joe Cole. Cole has been on the cusp of a major breakout and was featured on our list of 50 breakout actors and filmmakers of 2017. And the rest of the cast? Largely actual gang members, former prisoners (including several transsexual prostitutes) and boxers.
After Cannes, the film went on to show at SXSW earlier this year where Sauvaire spoke to Deadline on keeping the film as authentic as possible. “For me, it was important to be realistic. I like mixing the documentary style with fiction so I really wanted to shoot in the prison with former prisoners… These guys are all covered with tattoos and you can’t imagine coming on set and having the extras and doing the makeup on 100 people so they were perfect physically.”
“A Prayer Before Dawn” is the remarkable true story of Billy Moore, a young English boxer incarcerated in two of Thailand’s most notorious prisons. He is quickly thrown into a terrifying world of drugs and gang violence, but when the prison authorities allow him to take part in the Muay Thai boxing tournaments, he realizes this might be his chance to get out. Billy embarks on a relentless, action-packed journey from one savage fight to the next, stopping at nothing to do whatever he must to preserve his life and regain his freedom. Shot in an actual Thai prison with a cast of primarily real inmates, A Prayer Before Dawn is a visceral, thrilling journey through an unforgettable hell on earth.
DirecTV subscribers are in luck as the film is currently available through there, but for the rest of us, “A Prayer Before Dawn” will hit theaters on August 10. Be sure to check out the new trailer.