Joshua Feinzimer

A small room at the Computer Clubhouse in Rogers Park's Howard Area Community Center hosts the premiere of Kevin Berrey's "Shadow of a Bout," his debut documentary about the Loyola Youth Boxing team. The folding chairs are filled with young pugilists, boxing enthusiasts and other filmmakers, all anxiously awaiting the film's unveiling.

Berrey, who lived in Chicago until the age of nine (he now resides in Manhattan), felt welcomed by the boxers when he returned to Rogers Park to make his film. "My brother-in-law, Steve Hoffman, is the head coach for the adult program at Loyola Park," Berrey says. "He told me about the youth team traveling to different states to compete. I came to the gym in March of 2001 to see what Steve was talking about. I came casually and diplomatically, not expecting anything."

When Berrey saw fifteen-to-twenty kids working out, hitting speed bags, shadow boxing and doing sit-ups, he started imagining the film project. "The coaches played multiple roles," Berrey says of the gym. "There was a complex of different things going on, different responsibilities for the coaches to juggle, aside from being trainers. They had to keep an eye on the kids to make sure nothing got out of hand."

"I visited the gym two to three more times in the spring of '01," Berrey continues. "Then at the end of March, I went to Detroit for the Regional Junior Olympics." With his footage of the Detroit tournament, Berrey had the foundation for "Shadow of a Bout."

"In the summer of '01, I was around with the camera a lot," he says. "I took still shots, too. At the beginning, I tried to give them breathing room, but by the second tournament, they were used to having me around. We got along--we listened to the same music; I had a rough sense of the cultural world they were a part of, but I didn't act like I knew everything about them."

At the end of the premiere, Berrey answers questions from the audience. He shares his experiences making the film and talks of his close relationships with the kids and their families.

One young boxer named Edward Brown--who is showcased in the film--stands up and announces that he has just graduated from high school. Applause fills the room. Then, after giving tips to a protégé, Berrey offers some advice for young filmmakers: "Learn to lose and lose and lose in order to win."

(2006-06-30)

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