Movie | The Kid: Chamaco
Members of the Eddie Heredia Boxing Club in East Los Angeles gathered with other local-area youth to screen the new DVD edition of the film The Kid: Chamaco, being released today through Maya Home Entertainment. This classic boxing tale – an official Mexican-U.S. co-production that marks the directorial debut by celebrated Miguel Necoechea (Berlin Film Festival Winner with “Innocent Voices” and Sundance/Venice film Festivals winner with “Profundo Carmesi”) – was shot entirely in Mexico City and stars veteran actor Martin Sheen, Michael Madsen and Kirk Harris, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Several professional boxers were used in the film including four-time World Champion Marco Antonio Barrera, with the boxing sequences shot at Barrera’s own gym in Mexico City.
In attendance at the screening and Q&A to discuss the boxing sequences were the film’s star/screenwriter Kirk Harris, producer Don Franken and executive producer Justin Kim. Serving as emcee of the screening event was Olympic Gold Medalist (1984) boxer Paul Gonzales, who also serves as supervisor of the Eddie Heredia Boxing Club, part of the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department.
Maya Entertainment Group, a production and distribution company based in Los Angeles that deals exclusively in multicultural and Latino-themed projects, provided the screening for the club members as well as area youth from local Boys & Girls Clubs as part of their promotion of the September 28th DVD release of the film. The Kid: Chamaco is now available for $24.98 (SRP) at all major retail and online stores nationwide.
SYNOPSIS:
The Kid: Chamaco is the contemporary yet timeless story – told in the gritty world of boxing – about a father and son who overcome their differences to rescue a young Mexican teenager with big dreams off the hard streets of Mexico City. Together, they try to unite to help the teen who has big dreams but little hope of realizing them. The father, a doctor, left his home in the U.S. to run a medical clinic in Mexico City; the son, a former U.S. Olympic boxer, burned out too fast as a professional; and the young Mexican teenager with dreams of becoming his country’s new boxing idol, is just trying to make enough money to pull his sister and girlfriend off the streets. Along the way they find each other, find themselves and face their destinies head on. The film, shot entirely in Mexico City with dialogue in both Spanish and English, used several professional boxers including four-time World Champion Marco Antonio Barrera.
ABOUT THE EDDIE HEREDIA BOXING CLUB:
A former fire station, the Eddie Heredia Boxing Club (previously Eastside Boxing Club) was formed in recognition of a need for constructive and stimulating activities for youth in the East Los Angeles area. Part of the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department, it now bears the name of Eddie Heredia in memory of the club’s first champion who died of leukemia at age 17. The boxing club is proud to have had one of its members in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as part of the United States Olympic Boxing Team.
