Joe Cole, Vithaya Pansringarm, Nicolas Shake, Panya Yimmumphai
Starring Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, Green Room), A Prayer Before Dawn brings the prison drama to new levels of intensity while sensitively portraying life in an extreme environment. We follow the compelling true story of Briton Billy Moore, a heroin addict who learned Muay Thai boxing after being sentenced to three years in a Thai prison for selling drugs. Unable to speak the language he struggles to survive and build real relationships in a reality few can imagine.
Shot on location inside Nakhon Pathom prison in Thailand, the film lays bare the harsh conditions of life without sanitising or imposing judgement. Liverpool-born Moore’s own memoir informs the film, and Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s direction captures his story of vicious honour codes and tender friendships with clarity and depth.
A respectful and immersive portrayal that evokes both stylish hyperrealism and a gritty, natural aesthetic, Sauvaire shines a light on a dark and brutal world, rarely seen.