Filmmaking | Interviews

Into the Ring

1 Oct , 2003  

Written by Ellen Mills | Posted by:

John Sullivan discusses his documentary which screens at New Hampshire Film Expo this month -- 'Farang Ba (Crazy White Foreigner),' about Craig Wilson, a middle-aged, American lawyer, cancer survivor and celebrity in the Thai boxing community.

John Sullivan leads an active professional life as the head of his own production company (Naked Emperor Productions) and an accomplished editor and cameraperson, but it was his boxing hobby that led him to Craig Wilson, Thailand, and his most successful film to date: "Farang Ba (Crazy White Foreigner)."

Craig Wilson is a 46-year-old lawyer with an Ivy League education who lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand. He is also an amateur boxer who competes against opponents half his age on a regular basis and often beats them. As if this weren’t enough, Wilson boxes wearing an ileostomy bag, having lost his entire colon to cancer several years ago. Thai boxing fans know him as the "crazy white foreigner" or "farang ba."

"I met Craig while he was stateside in New York City," Sullivan says. "We boxed. I came to know him and thought he was an interesting character." Despite Wilson’s jovial personality and what he knew of the story, Sullivan did not think of him as a potential film subject right away. However, the two men kept in touch via phone and e-mail and as Sullivan learned more of the details of his new friend’s life, the idea of filming him began to take shape. One e-mail in particular gave Sullivan some insight into Wilson’s competitiveness.

"He wrote to me that he had just fought a former Olympic Silver medallist and he only got knocked down three times," relates Sullivan. "He was hoping for a re-match and to only get knocked down twice." Then in another e-mail Wilson wrote that he was preparing for a re-match with a 19-year-old because their first match had ended in a draw. Sullivan sensed that this could be the proper framework for his story, and he made preparations to leave for Thailand.

"It was a bare bones shoot," he says, "Just myself and another cameraman [James Weber]." The two men shot on mini-DV using Canon XL1 cameras. They spent 12 days in Thailand, filming Wilson training for the match, interviewing his coaches and his opponent’s family. Sullivan shows scenes of Wilson in the ring and the audience’s astonishment at the end of the match when he removes his headgear and they see his balding head. They cannot believe that the agile and energetic fighter they have just seen is so much older than his opponent. Viewers also see Wilson at work as a corporate lawyer wearing a button-down shirt, a tie, suspenders and glasses and looking much more like a scholar than an athlete.

The film conveys the familial atmosphere of the amateur boxing world in Thailand where the American lawyer is well known and respected. Wilson is particularly close to his coach. The two men share a mutual love of the sport and admiration for each other’s talents. The boxing match itself takes place near the end of the film.

Wilson’s immersion in the Thai culture has distinguished him from the other "farang"(foreigners) who visit Bangkok. As Sullivan points out, the city’s international reputation for its sex-related industry doesn’t always draw visitors who are interested in the language and culture of its people. Furthermore, many members of the large expatriate community in Bangkok are content to remain in English speaking circles.

"Craig speaks Thai, he has Thai friends and he has gone places in Thailand where other foreigners haven’t been," says Sullivan. His nickname, "farang ba" was given to Wilson by his coach and he now wears it proudly printed on his boxing shorts.

Sullivan also shows unflinching scenes of Wilson’s medical condition, including the routine emptying of his ileostomy bag. According to Sullivan, Wilson gave his full consent to filming the scene. Later, he reviewed the footage and approved it before it was put in the finished film. When he boxes, Wilson tapes the bag to his body, wears a pair of bicycling shorts to keep it secure and then wears a protective shield over his boxing shorts. The area is technically in the body’s foul region (i.e. "no hitting below the belt"), but the danger of a misplaced punch is always possible. The enjoyment of the sport apparently outweighs the risk for Wilson, who the filmmaker characterizes as "fiercely competitive."

Upon returning to the USA, Sullivan began post-production, again doing much of the work himself. "I bumped it to DigiBeta and color corrected and edited," he says. In addition to the footage shot in Thailand, Wilson contributed his own videotapes of 15 years worth of fighting.

When he was finished, Sullivan had a one-hour documentary about a dynamic man who has survived cancer, flourished in a foreign culture and become an accomplished amateur athlete in middle age. Sullivan took the film on the festival circuit and found that audiences responded immediately to the story. Personal stories of triumph have universal appeal and "Farang Ba (Crazy White Foreigner) is no exception. At the Bangkok film festival, 600 people saw the film.

"Almost everybody can take something from the film," Sullivan says. "People from 12 to 80 have seen the film and gotten a lot out of it. It’s highly inspirational and highly motivational." Distributors saw the appeal of the film too, and Sullivan sold it to Trio Popular Arts.

Despite the continued success of this film, Sullivan is practical about his profession, acknowledging that business can be feast or famine. "It’s a craft," he says, " and sometimes you have to do other things to pay the bills." For him, this means hiring himself out for his shooting or editing skills. However, "Farang Ba (Crazy White Foreigner)" has been one project that has gone farther than its creator could have hoped it would go. With a production budget of less than $10,000, "This one’s taken me all over the world," he says. Indeed, at the festivals, Sullivan’s modest budget has stunned other filmmakers working with budgets three times that size. "In Banff, people were spitting up their steak when they heard what my budget was," Sullivan laughs.

Sullivan began his career as a Production Assistant at ABC News Productions. He didn’t stay long but the experience provided good training and the opportunity to get some producing experience. He is a bit of a renaissance man himself as a published poet, a writer and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. His narrative film, "The Buddha Hood" won best short at the 1999 Foyle Film Festival in Derry, Northern Ireland.

It is clear that Sullivan admires Wilson, even though their friendship involves both verbal and physical sparring. "We went to rival high schools in [Washington] D.C. and Craig is always looking to extend the rivalry," says Sullivan. "The last time he met me at the airport he had his boxing gloves over his shoulder."

Sullivan sees his friend and subject as a role model for Americans abroad, citing the power of individuals to polish the tarnished image that America as a nation often holds in the world. "Craig is a good will ambassador for boxing and for the U.S.," he says.

As the filmmaker speaks about himself and his subject, neither one seems to be the type to shy away from a challenge. Sullivan inspires other filmmakers by making meaningful films on a modest budget, and Wilson inspires all of us with his determination and courage.

For more information about John Sullivan and his film, visit www.thenakedemperor.com. ‘Farang Ba (Crazy White Foreigner)’ will be screening at the New Hampshire Film Expo, Oct. 10-13, www.nhfilmexpo.com.


For more information about John Sullivan and his film, visit www.thenakedemperor.com. 'Farang Ba (Crazy White Foreigner)' will be screening at the New Hampshire Film Expo, Oct. 10-13, www.nhfilmexpo.com.

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