Lionel

Eddie Martin | Australia 2008 | 85 min/52 min

In 1968, Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose became the the first Indigenous world bantamweight boxing champion when after 15 rounds he defeated Fighting Harada in Tokyo. He returned home to a hero's welcome by a crowd of 250,000.

Lionel is a very lucid documentary which tells Lionel Rose's story from his childhood in rural Victoria to the present day. It's a story that's both triumphant and rather bitter-sweet, because after his success and fame in the 1960s Rose found it difficult to adjust to a more normal life.

Four years after winning his crown, Rose lost his title to Ruben Olivares. He became tangled with the law and spent all his winnings on family, gambling and drugs. His marriage to Jenny, the daughter of his first trainer, Frank Oakes, broke up for a while.

Combining vibrant long-lost archival material, modern day footage and candid interviews, Lionel is a biopic about an often-forgotten Australian champion who took on the world against all odds and won.

Australia's own buried idol... he was a world champion, a former Australian of the Year, a musician with Number 1 hits and the greatest Aboriginal boxer of all time.—Eddie Martin, director

His success came just months after the passing of the 1967 Australian referendum, which saw Aboriginal people counted in the census for the first time and allowed the government to make laws for them. In this climate, Rose was more than a black sporting hero - he was also a symbolic figure in the interracial politics of the time.

If he'd fought the year before he wouldn't even have counted as an Australian citizen.—Jenny Rose, Lionel's wife

Cast	Lionel Rose Jenny Rose (his wife) Jack Rennie Mark Rennie John Johnson Gary Foley
Release dates	World premiere 2 August 2008 at the Melbourne International Film Festival 4 October 2008 - Melbourne 16 October 2008 - Sydney (Staggered Sydney/Melbourne only release)
Video/DVD Release Date	20 November 2008
Awards	not available
Rating	M - Coarse language
Language level	medium - some subtitles
Distributor	Siren / Gryphon Entertainment (DVD)
Soundtrack	Cezary Skubiszewski
Genre	Documentary
Notes	Eddie Martin was initially commissioned by SBS to deliver a 52 minute documentary, but became interested in also doing a longer version after finding it impossible to squeeze all the important events of Lionel Rose's life into that time. Lionel demonstrates as well how Lionel's astonishing celebrity and marriage to a white woman represented a breakthrough in the public's acceptance of Indigenous people. The 52 minute version was broadcasted on television, the longer version is the movie and DVD version. The Limited Collector's Edition DVD features four historical Lionel Rose matches presented in full: Lionel Rose Vs Fighting Harada - Tokyo: Feb 26 1968 (presented in colour) Lionel Rose Vs Takao Sakurai - Tokyo: Jul 2nd 1968 Lionel Rose Vs Chucho Castillo - Los Angeles: Dec 6th, 1968 Lionel Rose Vs Vicente Garcia - Melbourne: Nov 1st, 1969 Lionel Rose was born on 21 June 1948. He became the first Aboriginal Australian of the Year. Lionel's recording career delivered two hit singles, one of which was written by Johnny Young.
Find this movie	Indigenous film suppliers and distributors

I didn't realise how massive he was back in 1968, 69, 70.—Eddie Martin, director

Where to from here?

• Learn more about Aboriginal sport
• Check out Aboriginal history with its great timeline.
• Find out about Indigenous media like TV and radio

[1] 'Uncovering history in black and whitewash', The Age 25 October 2008