The Boxer

The Boxer is an intimate portrait of Chordale Booker, a gifted USA boxer and National Champion with a storied past. Following a court ruling that afforded Chordale a second chance at life, he vowed to make right and fight his battles in the place he knew best, the ring. Follow his tumultuous journey through the lens of director, Craig Cutler.

  • Craig Cutler
    Director
  • Ted Pettus
    Writer
  • Fela Cortes
    Producer
  • Ted Pettus
    Producer
  • Chordale Booker
    Key Cast
  • Stephen Meierding
    Editor
  • Stephen Meierding
    Director of Photography
  • Sami Jano
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Short, Sports
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 18 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 5, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    60,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa, Digital
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • DOC NYC
    New York
    United States
    November 17, 2016
  • Big Apple Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    December 7, 2016
    New York
    Best Short Documentary
  • Williamsburg Independent Film Festival
    Brooklyn, NY
    United States
    December 19, 2016
  • Atlanta Docufest
    Atlanta
    United States
    September 15, 2016
    US Premiere
    Best Sports Documentary
  • New York Short Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    November 10, 2016
Director Biography - Craig Cutler


Craig Cutler is a multi-award winning director and photographer whose creates stunning, poetic and cinematic imagery with the unique ability to construct creative expression in both motion and stills. Craig’s unwavering commitment to his creative process transforms ideas into images, and those images into stories.

Craig works across various visual mediums including film, documentary and print and he has directed dozens of commercials and short films.

His commissioned collaborations range from Samsung, Audi, NASCAR, IBM, T Rowe Price and MTV. A prolific image-maker, Craig is also well known for his ambitious personal projects including the film, sculpture and photography project Peg and Sphere which was shown at Smash Box Studio in Los Angeles and CC52: The Exhibition, an expansive multimedia exhibition that showcased original photography, film, and mixed media that he created over 52 consecutive weeks.

Craig’s editorial work includes work for The New York Times, Bon Appétit, and National Geographic. His work is held in private collections and has been exhibited at the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh and the International Center of Photography in New York. He has earned accolades from Graphis, Communication Arts, PDN, the British One Club, the New York Addy Awards.

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Director Statement

I always have a pre conceived idea and a controlled vision when I tell a story through my artwork. Yet, this project was different. The more I got to know Chordale , the boxer, the more I discovered that boxing was just a catalyst for this film to tell a much more powerful story than the sport itself. It was a story about a man who was once a adolescent digging himself out of hole against all odds, it was a story about a man having the courage to start over, it is a story about the adversity and prosperity this world can uncover, and it is a story that has continued and morphed into an inspiration for all.