West Kelowna

The red carpet will be rolled out Saturday night for the Canadian premier of 'The Good Son,' a documentary chronicling the life of legendary boxer Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini.

Photo: Contributed

The documentary was co-produced by Kelowna filmmaker Adam Scorgie.

"At first I didn't know much about Ray or the project. I thought whatever, it was another project and I need the work," says Scorgie about getting involved in the film.

He says he was drawn in by Mancini's tragic story, how his brother was murdered a month before winning the world title and then taking the life of a Korean fighter (Duk Koo Kim).

While the film does deal with the tragic fight with Kim, Scorgie says the story goes much deeper.

"It goes into the father and son angle. It goes into Ray growing up and leading into the fight," says Scorgie.

"It really shows a good side of Duk Koo that has never been shown before."

The fight that took Kim's life took place November 13, 1982, in Las Vegas, nearly 30 years ago.

Kim's fiance Young-Mi was pregnant at the time with Jiwan.

Scorgie says the documentary brought Mancini and Jiwan together, face-to-face for the first time.

"That moment - Jiwan was so nervous all day and so was Ray," says Scorgie.

"That's why I became a filmmaker. Experiences like that. Being able to join them in this journey and the healing process.

Scorgie says the film is very powerful, different from anything he has worked on before.

"It was very emotional for the crew and for Ray. It's impossible not to feel that, somehow, you are connected to the story."

The film will be shown Saturday night at 7:15 at the new Extreme Landmark Cinema in West Kelowna.