Feature Documentary Fighting for Life a Dutch-Irish-South African partnership picks up the Peace, Sport and Documentary Award at the SPORTEL Awards in Monaco

The 29th edition of the SPORTEL Awards were held yesterday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

The feature documentary Fighting for Life produced by Jaja Films from the Netherlands in association with Mike Downey of Film and Music Entertainment (IRE) and Mark Dornford May of the Isango Company has picked up the Peace and Sport Documentary Prize at the SPORTEL Awards in Monaco.

The SPORTEL Awards is an international competition that rewards the most outstanding sports images of the year. Every year, numerous Olympic champions and celebrities from the sporting world take part in this awards ceremony, which takes place under the High Patronage of H.S.H Prince Albert II and under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee

The documentary film Fighting for Life gives a unique look inside the South-African prison Drakenstein Correctional Center and the impressive work of Dutch boxing coach Sharita van der Hulst in the rehabilitation program for prisoners that are serving heavy sentences. The film shows Dutch female boxing coach Sharita at work during a one week coaching course that she provides to selected prisoners who want to become a boxing coach themselves. Sharita has a strong belief in the power of boxing. Learning all about the sport and becoming a boxing coach provides the prisoners with a new goal and with qualifications when they return into society after serving their sentences.  Drakenstein Correctional Center, formerly called Victor Verster Prison, is the place where Nelson Mandela served his last 18 months of captivity before he was released in 1990. During his time as president Mandela, himself a boxer, changed the prison system in South Africa by introducing a vision on rehabilitation.

The documentary was directed by Dutch Jamillah van der Hulst and South-African Ian Greyvensteyn. JaJa Film Production produced and executive producers are Mike Downey and Mark Dornford-May.

"It’s great that such a powerful and (literally) hard hitting film should pick up this prestigious award." says Film and Music Entertainment principal Mike Downey, "And we are delighted that after our first collaborations on Lilet Never Happened, the Streetkids United series and the surfing movie Paul to continue our collaboration with Jaja. The story of Sharita and her boxing coaches and the great social message therein will resonate far and wide and it can only be helped by this award."

Fame (IRE) and Jaja Films are currently in post-production in the third feature documentary in the series Streetkids United.  Streetkids United III – The Road to Moscow featuring the Indian girls team has been directed by Jacco Groen (Lilet Never Happened) and wsill be delivered in November.  Plans are afoot for a fourth part of the series taking in the newly founded Streetchild Cricket World Cup in London in 2019.  Other films on the F&me slate include

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