“KASSIM THE DREAM” Premieres Friday at IFC
Posted by Laura Artesi on June 4, 2009 under Documentary, Foreign Film, Premiere, Theatrical Release, drama | 
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“Kassim The Dream” is the gripping documentary tale of World Champion Boxer, Kassim “The Dream” Ouma and his fight to survive in and out of the ring. Born in Uganda and kidnapped by the rebel army, Kassim began training as a child soldier at age six. When the rebels rose to power, Kassim became an army soldier, forced into a life of victimizing brutality. Finally the young Kassim sees his ticket to freedom within the army’s boxing team and, after 12 years of warfare, escapes to the United States.
Kassim, who rose to become the Junior Middleweight Champion of the World, seems to be a poster boy for the American Dream with his gutter to glory tale, but as the young boxer trains for his next world title fight, past torments weigh heavy on his mind. Desperate to reunite with his family in Uganda, who he has not seen or heard from in 10 years, Kassim realizes that the only way to return safely is with a military pardon from the government responsible for his childhood abduction.
Award winning director Kief Davidson goes head to head with Kassim Ouma, painting the brutal pictures of his childhood within the boxer’s current world. The result is the portrait of a brave young man, struggling to win the fight of his life.