Logline:
In a city he no longer recognizes, an old-school gangster faces a new breed of violence and ghosts from his past — where mercy demands blood, and redemption means prison.
Synopsis:
Standing 8 is a gripping cross-genre film that fuses the raw power of a boxing drama, the grit of a gangster saga, and the urgency of a social justice documentary. At its heart is the idea that violence is a generational cycle — broken adults create broken children, and the cycle continues until someone is willing to face it head-on.
Set over eight relentless days in Brooklyn, the story follows an ensemble cast led two old-school Irish gangers, and a group of contemporary Black youth trapped in the grip of gang life. The film draws on the metaphor of the Standing 8 count — that fleeting chance for a fighter to stand back up after being knocked down — symbolizing the fragile hope for redemption amid chaos and brutality.
As alliances shift and buried secrets surface, Standing 8 delivers a visceral blend of action, heart, and unflinching realism — a powerful portrait of survival and the human fight to break free from the cycles that bind us.
