Saviours

Saviours is a safe haven in a working class Dublin suburb where kids try to stay out of drug addicts’ way in the staircases of concrete high-rises. Unemployment, alcoholism, violence and social exclusion pester the area. Dean describes how Saviours has saved him from a grim future and made him adopt a healthy and respected lifestyle. Unlike what it may sound like, however, Saviours is not a church; it’s a boxing club.

Saviours is also a documentary that corrects the false impression that boxing is all about violence. It's a humble tribute to a sport that channels the restlessness of young men into constructive action. The chain of masters and apprentices, which turns trainees into trainers, is weaved anew at each training session. The tradition must continue so that the hopeless can have hope. At the club, men to whom life doesn’t offer many chances fight themselves a future.

Taina Vuokko | Translation by Senni Lähde