Celebrated Lebanese Filmmaker Teams with former British Boxing Champion for Prizefighting Documentary

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Eli Sokhn, known for his acclaimed 2012 Cannes Festival short film "Green is Red," has attached to edit and post-produce an upcoming boxing documentary "The Safest Place on Earth" with Gary Stretch, a former British middleweight champ turned actor.

"I'm very excited to be a part of this movie because not only are we doing a piece about such an old sport," Sokhn said, "we're also shedding light on the backstories of some of the biggest boxing champions who you think are savage and fierce, but on the inside might be vulnerable or even breakable."

Sokhn is reuniting with Stretch, known for acting in Oliver Stone's "Alexander," "World Trade Center" and "Savages." The two originally worked together on "Green is Red," an animated and live action short film with a powerful anti-war message that Sokhn directed, wrote and edited.

Stretch, who finished 23-2 in his boxing career, is directing and producing the documentary, which is eyeing a 2013 or 2014 release.

"Having worked with many of Hollywood's A-list filmmakers, from Oliver Stone to Sean Penn to Nicholas Cage and Sir Anthony Hopkins," Stretch says, "never have I come across such passion and drive in a new filmmaker. I look forward to Eli's extraordinary work and input into my project."

Through unfiltered interviews from renowned icons of professional fighting, the documentary uncovers complex psychological challenges faced by fighters who rose to the top of the sport and continue to bear its external and internal scars. Joe Calzaghe, Carlos Palomino, Ronda Rousey, Ricky Hatton, Ray Mancini and Vinnie Curto offer uninhibited insight.

The narrative also includes never-before-seen footage from Jackie Kallen, the First Lady of boxing famously portrayed by Meg Ryan in "Against the Ropes," Lucia Rijker, former undefeated world champ and co-star of Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" and Frank Stallone, boxing historian, actor and Grammy-nominated songwriter.

Sokhn edited sports broadcasts, dramas, sitcoms, documentaries, and entertainment shows as Chief Editor for New Look Productions in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2009, he edited a nationally broadcast memorial concert on Future TV for Prime Minister Rafik El Hariri, who was paid tribute with a hologram of his likeness.

SOURCE Eli El Sokhn