29:
161:
culture viewed as a positive thing. At the height of her success, she met a man to whom she became engaged, but found herself under pressure from her trainer not to marry because it would detract from her career, and on the personal side, to give up her career to invest in having a family. At that point, Phiri chose her career. This dilemma is a central theme of the film. In 2012, Phiri announced she was leaving boxing, though she made a comeback later on.
169:. "This is the first time I’m really opening up for people to see me as Esther Phiri, the woman, not the boxer. It’s scary to be this open, but I think it’s important to share my story, so that people can see that even success comes with a price. We work hard, but we also have personal struggles to overcome. I hope my story shows young girls that they can do everything they want to do, and inspire them, no matter their circumstances."
28:
152:, where she was left impoverished by her father's death from malaria when she was 15, and then became a single mother at the age of 16. Education was not a possibility for her, as she spent her days selling fruit and vegetables at the outdoor market to survive. She became interested in boxing after a demonstration at an
240:
191:
Chisi and Sorri first met Phiri at her gym in Lukasa in 2009, at the height of her career. Phiri had complained that she was tired of how the public and the media invaded her life, but agreed to expose herself in the documentary because the filmmakers promised her she could represent her own story in
160:
Phiri, who is sometimes called the "Laila Ali of Zambia" and sometimes "the real
Million Dollar Baby", found herself torn, in the midst of her success, between her personal life and her professional goals. Her fame made her a symbol of women's independence – a position not everyone in her family or
156:
awareness event, and tells how she faced ridicule for this interest. However, Phiri persevered, in spite of pressure to marry and have children. In a country where the average life expectancy is 40, and over 80% of the population live in poverty, and where HIV/AIDS, at epidemic rates, is twice as
192:
the film. Beyond the interest in Phiri's story because Chisi is related to her, the effect of her career in the region had been tremendous: Not only were
Zambian girls entering the sport in increasing numbers, but neighboring
164:
In the film, Phiri expresses her desire to see more girls and women pursue sports as a means to independence and empowerment, and a way to evade the many pitfalls of
Zambian life, including poverty, drugs, crime and
199:
The co-directors followed Phiri for three years, accompanied by a small crew made up mostly of women, and documented her in both the public and her personal spheres.
212:
215:
on
November 11, 2014, to critical acclaim. It was nominated for the Nordic Dox Award. Screenings at additional international festivals followed, including the
500:
172:
Phiri's desire may be coming true, as more and more girls are taking up boxing in her country and are considered to have "raised the bar" in the sport.
216:
265:
495:
208:
341:
485:
480:
395:
316:
490:
369:
148:'s first female boxer, and for winning seven welterweight world championships. But her story started earlier, in the slums of
166:
220:
290:
185:
157:
likely to impact women – Phiri beat the odds in terms of both culture and gender, and became a success.
241:"German Premiere: "Between Rings – The Esther Phiri Story" with Director Jessie Chisi in Attendance"
475:
317:"Jessie Chisi talks about "Between Rings: The Esther Phiri Story" and her hopes for Zambian cinema"
460:
266:"'Between Rings' Docu Shows Boxing Champ Esther Phiri's Fight Against Cultural Traditions"
469:
403:
133:
125:
121:
51:
39:
196:
had also just allowed women to compete as professional boxers for the first time.
128:, Chisi's cousin, who left her education and prospect of marriage to embark on a
211:
in
September 2014, and made its international premiere in Denmark at the
193:
454:
425:
149:
145:
129:
117:
153:
144:
The film tells Esther Phiri's story. She is famous for being
219:
in Sweden. The
Zambian premiere of the film took place on
426:"Esther Phiri film to make Women's Day world premiere"
124:, and Finnish director Salla Sorri. The film is about
116:
is a documentary film co-written and co-directed by
184:before production was completed, was funded by the
101:
93:
83:
59:
47:
35:
21:
213:Copenhagen International Documentary Festival
8:
27:
18:
16:Zambian documentary film by Jessie Chisi
232:
291:"In Zambia, women are boxing's stars"
113:Between Rings: The Esther Phiri Story
7:
370:"Esther Phiri: Zambia's boxing star"
364:
362:
217:Göteborg International Film Festival
209:Helsinki International Film Festival
132:career, and became seven-time world
501:English-language documentary films
14:
1:
207:The film was screened at the
496:2010s English-language films
180:The film, originally titled
68:November 11, 2014
517:
486:Finnish documentary films
481:Zambian documentary films
221:International Women's Day
26:
346:Finnish Film Foundation
321:African Women in Cinema
186:Finnish Film Foundation
491:2014 documentary films
295:The Seattle Globalist
203:Release and reception
432:. 28 February 2015
400:Cinema Scandinavia
430:Zambia Daily Mail
396:"Nordic DOX 2014"
223:, March 8, 2015.
109:
108:
508:
442:
441:
439:
437:
422:
416:
415:
413:
411:
406:on 30 April 2019
402:. Archived from
392:
386:
385:
383:
381:
366:
357:
356:
354:
352:
338:
332:
331:
329:
327:
313:
307:
306:
304:
302:
297:. March 22, 2017
287:
281:
280:
278:
276:
262:
256:
255:
253:
251:
237:
75:
73:
31:
19:
516:
515:
511:
510:
509:
507:
506:
505:
466:
465:
451:
446:
445:
435:
433:
424:
423:
419:
409:
407:
394:
393:
389:
379:
377:
368:
367:
360:
350:
348:
342:"Between Rings"
340:
339:
335:
325:
323:
315:
314:
310:
300:
298:
289:
288:
284:
274:
272:
264:
263:
259:
249:
247:
239:
238:
234:
229:
205:
178:
142:
86:
79:
71:
69:
62:
54:
42:
17:
12:
11:
5:
514:
512:
504:
503:
498:
493:
488:
483:
478:
468:
467:
464:
463:
450:
447:
444:
443:
417:
387:
358:
333:
308:
282:
257:
231:
230:
228:
225:
204:
201:
177:
174:
141:
138:
107:
106:
103:
99:
98:
95:
91:
90:
87:
84:
81:
80:
78:
77:
76: (Denmark)
65:
63:
60:
57:
56:
49:
45:
44:
37:
33:
32:
24:
23:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
513:
502:
499:
497:
494:
492:
489:
487:
484:
482:
479:
477:
474:
473:
471:
462:
458:
457:
456:Between Rings
453:
452:
449:External list
448:
431:
427:
421:
418:
405:
401:
397:
391:
388:
376:. 17 Aug 2016
375:
371:
365:
363:
359:
347:
343:
337:
334:
322:
318:
312:
309:
296:
292:
286:
283:
271:
267:
261:
258:
246:
242:
236:
233:
226:
224:
222:
218:
214:
210:
202:
200:
197:
195:
189:
187:
183:
182:Woman on Hold
175:
173:
170:
168:
162:
158:
155:
151:
147:
139:
137:
135:
131:
127:
123:
119:
115:
114:
104:
100:
96:
92:
88:
82:
67:
66:
64:
58:
53:
50:
46:
41:
38:
34:
30:
25:
22:Between Rings
20:
455:
434:. Retrieved
429:
420:
408:. Retrieved
404:the original
399:
390:
378:. Retrieved
373:
349:. Retrieved
345:
336:
324:. Retrieved
320:
311:
299:. Retrieved
294:
285:
273:. Retrieved
269:
260:
248:. Retrieved
244:
235:
206:
198:
190:
181:
179:
171:
163:
159:
143:
134:welterweight
126:Esther Phiri
122:Jessie Chisi
112:
111:
110:
85:Running time
61:Release date
52:Jessie Chisi
40:Jessie Chisi
245:AfricaVenir
55:Salla Sorri
43:Salla Sorri
36:Directed by
476:2014 films
470:Categories
374:Al Jazeera
270:GirltalkHQ
227:References
176:Production
136:champion.
120:filmmaker
89:92 minutes
72:2014-11-11
48:Written by
436:30 April
410:30 April
380:30 April
351:30 April
326:30 April
301:30 April
275:30 April
250:30 April
194:Zimbabwe
140:Synopsis
105:€250,000
94:Language
118:Zambian
97:English
70: (
150:Lusaka
146:Zambia
130:boxing
102:Budget
461:IMDb
438:2019
412:2019
382:2019
353:2019
328:2019
303:2019
277:2019
252:2019
167:STDs
154:AIDS
459:at
472::
428:.
398:.
372:.
361:^
344:.
319:.
293:.
268:.
243:.
188:.
440:.
414:.
384:.
355:.
330:.
305:.
279:.
254:.
74:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.