A ROUND UP OF 'THE FIGHTER'S BALLAD' AWARDS, REVIEWS, QUOTES, FESTIVALS, FILM MARKETS SO FAR
JANUARY 2022
'The Fighter's Ballad' receives a new film review by the wonderful Russian artist and journalist Julia Kalashnikova. Please see below:
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This latest review is in the first 2022 published issue of the Russian music and arts magazine Rockcor.
THE FIGHTER'S BALLAD LATEST REVIEW - 2011/2021
"Peter Cadwell first wrote the play 'The Fighter', in which he played the Fighter character in it, and only later adapted the stage production for a feature film 'The Fighter’s Ballad'. The result is a splendid psychological drama in the spirit of Dostoevsky (the giant of classical Russian literature). Only in contrast to the multi-layered and multi-character novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky... in the film, based on the play script by Cadwell, there are actually only two main characters: the Fighter (again, played by Cadwell) and the Priest (played by Clive Russell). The film takes place in a church, where a violent, desperate young man (Fighter) rushes in. You might think that he came to rob the church. No, he came to die. But before that, the Fighter will seek answers to universal questions: life and death, justice and social inequality, salvation and redemption, faith in God and doubt. His interlocutor will be the Priest, who has also experienced great suffering. The storyline keeps the attention all the time. The dark colour scheme in the film helps to focus on the inner feelings of the characters. Cadwell's performance resembles that of another British actor, Daniel Day-Lewis. One gets the feeling that Peter himself lived the life of his character. Cadwell acted as a writer, actor and producer on the film. The film has received and continues to receive awards at various film festivals. Unfortunately, there is no Russian translation of the film yet. But the film is impressive." Julia Kalashnikova - Arts Journalist
Note from Peter Cadwell (Actor, Filmmaker) (24th Feb 2022):
My heart and soul breaks for the Ukrainian people...and the Russian people. The conflict in Ukraine is truly horrific and tragic.
With regards to the review mentioned above, of course I've been speaking with artists in Russia over the past months (who are also working with artists from Ukraine)...and those I've spoken with in Russia, have been truly good people. We're all human, with hopes and dreams...of course, there is good and bad everywhere in this world. Again, my heart and soul goes out to all those who are suffering. x
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NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019
'The Fighter's Ballad', was screened over the month of November/December 2019, in several cities/cinema's in Poland, as part of the 'ARKA Christian Film Festival'. Polish cities such as Krakow, Warsaw, Lublin, Nowy SÄ…cz, Rzeszów, Siedlce, Szczawno Zdrój.
As part of the festival, the headlining films shown were:
The Rider directed by Chloé Zhao, winner of the Cannes Festival (Director Fortnight Award)
The Fighter's Ballad directed by Tony Sebastian Ukpo (Discovery of MF New Horizons)
Some quotes from the festival about 'The Fighter's Ballad':
Festival audiences said, that it is worth going to this year's festival for this film alone.
"The Fighter's Ballad is a modest, not obvious film, yet profoundly powerful, giving people the opportunity to re-deepen their faith, hope and love."
"The Fighter's Ballad is a very interesting and powerful film. It's hard to believe that such deep productions can appear in contemporary cinema."
"The film gives you a great deal to think about. It was about the suffering of a violent man and the fact that he could not cope with reality and what happened to him."
"The driving force behind the action are the dramatized dialogues of the two protagonists, powerfully portrayed by Peter Cadwell and Clive Russell. Although the film was made in the twilight, the camera perfectly captured all the acting nuances."
THE FIGHTER'S BALLAD - WINNER OF 25 FILM AWARDS
'The Fighter's Ballad' feature film is the official winner of 'Best Feature Film' at the 'The European Independent Film Award' 2016:
Best Feature Film
'The Fighter's Ballad' feature film is the official winner of 3 awards at the 'NYC Indie Film Awards' 2016. The winning awards are:
Best Feature Film
Best Director - Tony S Ukpo
Best Lead Actor - Peter Cadwell
'The Fighter's Ballad' is an official winner of 4 further awards from 'GIFA' in the US, for their 2016 overall annual winners. The 'Global Independent Film Awards' is a competition that recognises exceptional work by filmmakers and actors. 'The Fighter's Ballad' GIFA annual winning awards are:
Best Actor in a Lead Role - Peter Cadwell for The Fighter
Best Narrative Feature - The Fighter's Ballad
Humanitarian Award - Peter Cadwell (Actor, Writer, Producer) for The Fighter's Ballad
Best Faith Based Film - The Fighter's Ballad
'The Fighter's Ballad' is an official winner of 9 film awards from 'GIFA' in the US...please see below. The 'Global Independent Film Awards' is an awards competition that recognises exceptional work by filmmakers and actors. The winning awards are:
GOLD MEDAL: Best Feature Film
Writer & Producer Peter Cadwell; Producer Jane Frisby; Producer & Director Tony Sebastian Ukpo; Exec Producer Anthony Ukpo Snr
GOLD MEDAL: Best Direction - Director Tony Sebastian Ukpo
GOLD MEDAL: Best Actor in a Lead Role - Peter Cadwell (As The Fighter)
GOLD MEDAL: Best Ensemble Cast (Ensemble Cast of The Fighter’s Ballad) - Jane Frisby
GOLD MEDAL: Best Screenplay (Narrative) - Screenwriter Peter Cadwell
GOLD MEDAL: Best Drama
Writer & Producer Peter Cadwell; Producer Jane Frisby; Producer & Director Tony Sebastian Ukpo; Exec Producer Anthony Ukpo Snr
GOLD MEDAL: Best Faith-Based Film
Writer & Producer Peter Cadwell; Producer Jane Frisby; Producer & Director Tony Sebastian Ukpo; Exec Producer Anthony Ukpo Snr
GOLD MEDAL: Best Sound
Location Recordists Nikos Nikolalaios & Marco Iavarone; Sound Designers Steve Parker & Richard Lewis; and Post-Production Audio by Pindrop
GOLD MEDAL: Best Hair & Make-Up - Lily Iwata
SILVER MEDAL: Best Actor in a Lead Role - Clive Russell (As Father John)
SILVER MEDAL: Best Score - Composer Samuel Karl Bohn
SILVER MEDAL: (Dis)Ability Film Award
Writer & Producer Peter Cadwell; Producer Jane Frisby; Producer & Director Tony Sebastian Ukpo; Exec Producer Anthony Ukpo Snr
BRONZE MEDAL: Best Production Design - Production Designer Felicity Skelton; Art Director Maria Bloom
BRONZE MEDAL: Humanitarian Award
Writer & Producer Peter Cadwell; Producer Jane Frisby; Producer & Director Tony Sebastian Ukpo; Exec Producer Anthony Ukpo Snr
NOMINEE: Best Cinematography - Cinematographer Yosuke Kato
NOMINEE: Best Editing - Editor Sebastian Kaiba
'The Fighter's Ballad' wins three awards at the spiritual film festival 'John Paul II International Film Festival' 2012, Miami, Florida, US. Other nominations included: 'California Solo'​ starring Robert Carlyle; 'For Greater Glory'​ starring Andy Garcia and Peter O'Toole; 'The Way' starring Charlie Sheen & Emilio Estevez.
The winning awards are:
Best Feature Film
Best Actor - Peter Cadwell
Best Screenplay - Peter Cadwell
THE FIGHTER'S BALLAD - REVIEWS
"Peter Cadwell first wrote the play 'The Fighter', in which he played the Fighter character in it, and only later adapted the stage production for a feature film 'The Fighter’s Ballad'. The result is a splendid psychological drama in the spirit of Dostoevsky (the giant of classical Russian literature). Only in contrast to the multi-layered and multi-character novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky... in the film, based on the play script by Cadwell, there are actually only two main characters: the Fighter (again, played by Cadwell) and the Priest (played by Clive Russell). The film takes place in a church, where a violent, desperate young man (Fighter) rushes in. You might think that he came to rob the church. No, he came to die. But before that, the Fighter will seek answers to universal questions: life and death, justice and social inequality, salvation and redemption, faith in God and doubt. His interlocutor will be the Priest, who has also experienced great suffering. The storyline keeps the attention all the time. The dark colour scheme in the film helps to focus on the inner feelings of the characters. Cadwell's performance resembles that of another British actor, Daniel Day-Lewis. One gets the feeling that Peter himself lived the life of his character. Cadwell acted as a writer, actor and producer on the film. The film has received and continues to receive awards at various film festivals. Unfortunately, there is no Russian translation of the film yet. But the film is impressive." Julia Kalashnikova - Arts Journalist - Russia
"It’s really one of the strangest and most daring films I have seen. And, considering I have over 16,000 reviews to my credit so far on IMDb, that’s saying quite a bit." Martin Hafer - Lead Entertainment Writer & Film Critic - Influx Magazine
"While some films depend on lavish CGI flights of fancy, The Fighter’s Ballad draws its strength from its simplicity. Taking place in a cavernous east London church, this is a stark two handed confrontation between the gentle-spirited Reverend John and the Fighter of the title - a loquacious ball of anger and despair who breaks in from the street. Though the rhythmic back and forth of their exchange can sometimes feel like the stage, there’s an impressive visual sheen here - and the dialogue is given a weighty intensity by the superb performances of Peter Cadwell and Clive Russell." Danny Leigh - Film Critic & Co-host of BBC Film
"I cannot help but think that if Shakespeare were still alive and kicking, and writing from a faith-based point-of-view, he may well have written 'The Fighter’s Ballad'. A powerful and challenging film, The Fighter’s Ballad takes an unflinching look at how violence, guilt, and hatred destroy, and how grace, forgiveness, and mercy heal. One of the best independent British films I have seen in many years." Christian St John - Christian Film Guide Film Critic & Editor 2013
"A rollercoaster of ideas, memories and feelings ensues as we see the world through the vision of this Angry Young Man and the Man of God who tries to abate him. Ukpo’s direction is understated, letting the feelings and characters speak out for themselves, and breaks up the action effectively with Samuel Karl Bohn’s moving score and the sad and mysterious pasts of the two men. As a devotee of Dostoevsky I was very much at home. Cadwell’s work explores religion, man’s existence and how the two ebb and flow around each other. He has bravely taken on and tackled a huge body of thought which really makes this film stand out in style and content from what one is used to seeing on our stages and screens." Caroline Vice - Online Film Reviewer - Dead Curious 2012
"Brutal but beautiful." Sadie De Jouer Taylor - ​Producer​
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"Powerful, Provocative, Poetic, Profound." Anonymous Viewer​
​"An excruciatingly beautiful Film that asks questions of us all." Mike Warburton - Actor​
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"Peter Cadwell is a truly transformational actor, a stunning performance." Jack Price - Director​​

"Peter Cadwell is a tour de force, tackling a difficult subject matter with both brute force and compassion/sensitivity, reminiscent of early Brando! 'The Fighter's Ballad', blow for blow, is the best Low Budget Film of the year!" Russell Taylor - Director​

"If you're into dialogue driven indie films, in which the acting, writing and characters are intensely powerful, challenging, yet truly beautiful, heartbreaking, then this already cult classic is for you." John Howard - Filmmaker

" 'The Fighter's Ballad' deserves all the support it can get, regarding the insightful direction and convincing performances, in a Film that proves once and for all that Big Budgets and Special Effects don't make big and special Movies. It's the creative Heads behind a production like 'The Fighter's Ballad', that give birth to Films that stay in people's minds." Robert Sigl - Director

"Unflinching, questioning and brutal. This powerful Film will stay with you for sometime. A brave, stylistic commentary on contemporary society, or lack of, and the relevance of religion and forgiveness. Memorable." Tara Newton - Actor

"Shocking, thought-provoking and dark; a vision of the battle between hope and hopelessness." Emma Engers - Agent​

"This Film delves into uncomfortable depths, exploring the difficulty of communicating with a troubled soul, seemingly out of sync with the 'normal'. The audience's instinct is to be afraid and repulsed by people whose reality seems dangerously misaligned; 'The Fighter's Ballad' suggest that mental illness has to be treated early, at source, through pity, patience and openness. In the Film's darkest moments, we see the friction caused by divergent world views; the comforting idealism of religion versus the despair and violence of hopeless nihilism." Tom Quillfeldt - Agent​

"I am still thinking about 'The Fighter's Ballad', which I take to be an excellent sign! It's raw and powerful, but as I've started to distance myself from it, it's the beauty of it that's staying with me. The poetry stands out ... 'The Fighter's Ballad' has a rare lyricism usually reserved for the theatre and the love song is a particularly moving sequence. The central performances balance each other out beautifully and I think some really brave artistic choices have been made throughout the production of the piece." Elizabeth Boag - Actor​

"Strong performances from Peter Cadwell and Clive Russell make 'The Fighter’s Ballad' a thought provoking and poetic piece of work; a great example of how a Low Budget Film can offer high hopes for the Indie Industry in the UK." Andi Reiss - Director​

"I think its commendable what your team have pulled together on such a Low Budget ... there's no denying the passion evident in the acting, and in Peter's writing." Giles Edwards - Acquisitions Manager 'Metrodome'
Danny Boyle:
As part of Danny Boyle's new East London Film Festival 'Shuffle', that took place a few weeks back... Danny Boyle picked 'The Fighter's Ballad' to screen alongside 'One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest'. This was part of the 'Day of the Mind', a day of the festival exploring the human mind. As both Cuckoo's Nest and The Fighter's Ballad, express Mental Health in society, we felt honoured to be up there with Cuckoo's Nest.
Film Festivals:
Official Selection 'The European Independent Film Award' 2016
Official Selection 'NYC Indie Film Awards' New York, US, 2016
Official Selection 'Global Independent Film Awards' US 2016
Official Selection 'Danny Boyle's Shuffle Festival' 2013
Official Selection 'John Paul II International Film Festival' Miami 2012
Official Selection 'London Independent Film Festival' 2012
Official Selection 'Cornwall Film Festival' Nov 2011
Film Markets:
'19th Busan International Film Festival' Asian Film Market, South Korea 2014
'17th Shanghai International Film Festival' China Film Market 2014
'Le Marche du Film' Cannes Film Market 2014
'Filmart' Hong Kong International Film Market 2014