SXSW Interview: ‘A Prayer Before Dawn’ Director And Star Strike Fear In Grisly Prison-Boxing Movie

‘A Prayer Before Dawn’ director and star strike fear in grisly prison-boxing movie

By Preston Barta
Film Critic

One of the many films A24 had at the South by Southwest Film Festival last week was the bio-drama A Prayer Before Dawn. Directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (Johnny Mad Dog) and starring Joe Cole (Green Room), the film takes us inside the monstrous world of Billy Moore, an English boxer who was incarcerated in one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons. To win his freedom, he must survive the everyday hell of its ruthless prisoners and fight in Muay Thai tournaments.

We sat down with Sauvaire and Cole in Austin, TX, to discuss the animalistic nature of the film, the brutality of Moore’s story and the challenges of creating such a visceral experience.

A24 will release A Prayer Before Dawn later this year.