Facing Ali at Vancouver Film Festival

Boxers Celebrate World Heavyweight Champion

The Vancouver International Film Festival is presenting a fascinating documentary on Muhammad Ali , released by Lions Gate, directed by Pete McCormack (See Grace Fly, Uganda Rising) and produced by Derik Murray (Legends of Hockey, Making the Cut).

It will change the way you view Muhammad Ali forever.

In Facing Ali/The Untold Stories of Warriors, the three-time World Heavyweight Champion and 1960 Rome Olympic Gold medalist is celebrated by his former illustrious rivals. Facing Ali is based on a book by Canadian sportswriter Stephen Brunt, who focused on the human nature of the warriors. Yet, testimonials are as much an explosive retrospective of the boxer's career, as they are a tribute to the humanity of the charismatic athlete.

The Warriors of the Ring

With The Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire and The Thrilla in Manila in the Philippines included among other vintage footage of the seventies, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, George Chuvalo, Sir Henry Cooper, Larry Holmes, Ken Norton and Leon Spikes play themselves on the big screen as they share intimate insights about "the man who could float like a butterfly, sting like a bee in the boxing ring."

Muhammad Ali transformed the sport with a brilliant strategy combining physical ability and psychological domination over his opponents. No one knows more than Joe Frazier, who faced Ali in 47 rounds, sometimes at risk of his life. With 56 victories for 61 fights and 37 wins by KO, the champion was indeed "The Greatest."

Muhammad Ali's Dark Years (1967-1970)

February 1967: Ali's notorious win over Ernie Terrel is described as "a wonderful demonstration of boxing skill and a barbarous display of cruelty."

May 1967: Ali's boxing licence is suspended after he is prosecuted for felony over his refusal to join the U.S. Armed Forces.

During Ali's three years of exile from the ring, Frazier regained the World Heavyweight Champion title, and extended financial opportunities to Ali.

They met again in 1971 in the much anticipated Fight of the Century with Frazier's victory in the final round.

Ali's Parkinson's Diagnosis and New Mission

Retired in 1981, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1986. His life purpose had just begun.

From Soul of a Butterfly (2004), a memoir he wrote with Hana, one of his seven daughters (Ali has two sons):

"During my boxing career, you did not see the real Muhammad Ali. You just saw a little boxing. You saw only a part of me. After I retired from boxing my true work began. I have embarked on a journey of love."

Ali has received numerous awards, and his humanitarian work is a testimony of his once rebellious yet always socially minded spirit. He traveled the world to bring awareness and compassion to desperate causes. In 1990, he negotiated the release of 15 hostages in Iraq. In 2002, he was named Messenger of Peace by the United Nations and went to Afghanistan.

The Legacy of The Greatest Boxer

The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, works "to preserve and share his ideals, to promote respect, hope and understanding, and to inspire adults and children everywhere to be as great as they can be."

"His impact recognizes no continent, no language, no color, no ocean... Muhammad Ali belongs to us all." Maya Angelou