The City of Asylum and ReelQ will present a screening of the 2003 Thai film Beautiful Boxer (บิวตี้ฟูล บ๊อกเซอร์) on June 18.
The Beautiful Boxer is the controversial 2003 biopic detailing the helter-skelter life of transgender (‘kathoey’) Muay Thai fighter, Nong Thoom. The film, while winning awards and nominations in Europe, Asia and America raised temperatures in Thailand where censors felt aggrieved by the extreme frontal nudity which made the film popular elsewhere.The film runs from 7:00 to 9:00 pm and is free and open to the public (though RSVP is required). The City of Asylum's Alphabet City is located at 40 N. West Ave. on the North Side (map).
The Beautiful Boxer deals with the life of Nong Thoom. Nong had always been aware of her gender and her biological complications from a young age and after spending time in a Buddhist monastery, decided to pursue boxing and Muay Thai as a means of paying to support her under privileged parents and get a sex change operation. She was dubbed The Beautiful Boxer as a result of her first fight where she beat and then passionately kissed a much larger opponent.