Based on the remarkable true story of legendary British-Yemeni boxing champion Prince Naseem “Naz” Hamed and his relationship with Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, Giant charts Naz’s inspiring rags-to-riches underdog tale from his humble beginnings in Sheffield to becoming champion of the world.
With his unorthodox style, cocky persona and sheer dominance of the sport, Naseem faced down the abhorrent racism and islamophobia that swept Britain in the 80’s and 90’s, to become a global sporting icon, both inside and outside of the ring.
The film explores the unlikely and tender relationship between Naz and his trainer Ingle – a steel industry worker who ran a humble boxing gym in a church hall in the North of England; and the instrumental role that Ingle played on Naz’s road to success.
With exhilarating and visceral scenes in the ring, coupled with deeply moving and intimate moments behind the curtain, Giant tells untold true story of the boy behind The Prince.
Director’s Statement
Was he a Sportsman or Rock star; a Boxer or Braggart; a British Lion or an Asian Immigrant? There was a moment in history where it seemed everyone on the planet was divided in their opinion of what ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed was. All were united, however, in the knowledge that above all, he was an Icon. To some though, like my brothers and I, he was even more than that: He was our hero.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, the son of a British mother, and Indian immigrant father. That is to say I grew up mixed-race in a place, at a time, where diversity wasn’t celebrated. It was openly derided. The National Front and the BNP had strong roots in the town, but racism wasn’t exclusive to the far-right political spectrum. It was everyday, it was consuming. It was anything from the casual use of despicable language, to the casual use of violence.
When I began writing Giant, I looked back on the first serious racism-related fight I had. It was on a recreational ground on an estate not far from my house. After enduring a couple of days of racist abuse from a fellow pupil at my school, I had agreed to fight him. And I did so, surrounded by a hundred other kids who were shouting for blood. I walked away from that fight with a bleeding nose, a bleeding mouth, and a bruised fist. It was a terrifying experience. Of course it would be, I was 11 years old at the time. I wasn’t looking for triumph that day, I wasn’t looking to make a name for myself; an obsession of many of the males at my school. I just wanted to silence the other kid, to make him stop saying the things he was saying, to leave me alone. I just wanted to get myself out of the spotlight he’d put on me.
I didn’t know it then, but just around the corner from where I lived, there was a young man who was about to force his way into the public conscious; a young man who faced the same taunts and far worse, but who unlike me, fought to have the spotlight shone on him; so he could dare his detractors to say more.
Naseem was born and raised about eight miles from me, and seven years earlier. We share a county, and much else. I’m the son of a South Asian immigrant; Naseem is the son of Western Asian Immigrants. The distance between our ancestral homelands was brought together by a common slur used against us in our hometowns. It’s a four letter word beginning with P, and it’s too ugly to use here (unavoidably, however, you’ll hear it in the film).
Though I look like my father, I’m light skinned. When discussing the racism my brothers and I faced growing up, people sometimes ask me how other people knew I was mixed-race. I silently find the question as insulting as the racism itself; it suggests we were ashamed, and sought to hide who we are. I have a go-to line that both addresses the absurdity of the question, and diffuses the uncomfortable situation it creates: “I didn’t grow up in Amsterdam in the 40s, we didn’t have to hide my father in the attic. He dropped me off at nursery when I was three, and the ruse was up”. But the truth is the intention of racism is to make you feel ashamed of who you are. And it works. Or it does on most people; it never appeared to work on Prince Naseem Hamed. And I admired him for this, above all else.
At a time when many of us tried to to hide and play down our differences, personally and professionally, Naseem went the other way. He celebrated his otherness, celebrated himself. He did so loudly, brazenly, and unapologetically in everyone’s face. The turban, for example, was an often mocked garment for those that wore them; so Naseem entered the ring wearing a giant one, fashioned with orange cloth. To those from South and Western Asia, jokes about flying around on magic carpets are as ubiquitous as they are boring. So Hamed flew across an arena into the boxing ring sitting on one like Aladdin himself. Having broken into the American market as a superstar fighter, it was said that Naseem might turn off fight fans with his frequent post-fight comments on his Muslim faith, and his praise to Allah. Naseem answered back by entering the ring to the Muslim call-to-prayer, beneath banners of sacred Muslim text. Promoter Frank Warren once commented on how his peers had told him he’d never be able to sell an Asian Muslim with the name “Hamed” to the British or the American public. But Naseem didn’t alter himself, or his name, to fit someone else’s vision of what a British fighter should be. He sold himself through sheer force of talent and personality and captured the world’s attention. And in doing so, inspired so many of us.
In the early 90s there was no one like Naseem on our cinema screens, our TV screens, our radios, or in our sport. There were no posters to put on our walls. Until Prince Naseem Hamed strutted into our lives. With style, skill, and attitude, he soon became a household name; his celebrity breaking out of the niche confines a sporting figure normally occupies. The mid 90s saw the arrival of Cool Britannia, a moment where British Youth Culture and optimism were celebrated in much of the world. Sitting on the apex of this moment, alongside the parka wearing Gallagher Brothers, the Union Jack wearing Spice Girls, and the suited Tony Blair, was the leopard-skin attired kid from Sheffield. Naseem cut an iconic figure, and was celebrated around the world. But to my brothers and I, he felt like he was ours.
Giant, however, is far from a hagiography. Even as a wide-eyed teenager watching my hero in the ring, I knew I was looking up to a deeply controversial and flawed man. But I want the world to see the circumstances that created these flaws, contradictions and controversies. To understand that from difficult circumstances, difficult people sometimes arise.
I’ve wanted to make this film for many years, for many reasons. The most important being: one, because Naseem’s story, and his journey and relationship with life-long mentor Brendan Ingle, is as moving and heartbreaking as it is exhilarating. Two, because not much has changed since the 90s. In 2025 there are still almost no Naseems on our movie screens, on our TV screens, on our radios, or in our sport. It’s shocking. And it’s incredibly sad. But it’s true.
I want the film to inspire those who still crave it, and still need it. And I want the world to once again celebrate one of the few British-Asian-Muslims in our history.
Sincerely,
Rowan Dinar Athale
ROWAN ATHALE
Rowan is a British-Indian filmmaker. He recently completed production on the Prince Naseem Hamed Biopic GIANT, which he wrote and directed, for AGC / Tea Shop /Balboa Productions / True Brit Entertainment. The film stars Pierce Brosnan & Amir El-Masry. He is currently working on LIONESS for Tea Shop Productions and THE COMEBACK for Anton Corp.
Rowan wrote and will direct dystopian thriller feature LITTLE AMERICA (Platinum Dunes/AGC Studios/Balboa Productions), which will star Sylvester. The film was a huge presales hit at the Berlin Film Festival.
His debut feature WASTELAND (aka THE RISE) starred Vanessa Kirby, Timothy Spall & Luke Treadway and premiered at TIFF. The film went on to be nominated for numerous awards, including the Douglas Hickox Award at the BIFAs, Best Newcomer at the BFI LFF and the Discovery award at TIFF. Rowan’s 2nd feature as director was noir-thriller STRANGE BUT TRUE. The film was produced by Fred Berger (La La Land) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and starred Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brian Cox and Blythe Danner. CBS Films and Lionsgate released the film worldwide. He co-wrote feature OUTSIDE THE WIRE for Netflix starring Anthony Mackie & Damson Idris, which was released to huge success in 2021. Rowan also co-wrote THE VAULT, for Mediaset, and TF1. The film was produced by Ghislain Barrois and Alvaro Augustin (Pan’s Labyrinth and The Impossible) and starred Freddie Highmore, Liam Cunningham and Sam Riley. THE VAULT took the Number 1 spot on Netflix Movie Chart in its first week of release in the US and Canada and was released in the UK as an Amazon Prime Original, where it also reached No.1.
Rowan has been commissioned to write numerous original tv projects, including: HOLD OUT for Netflix, OUTSIDER for Garrison Drama; BREAKOUT for Lookout Point; RECLAIM and a reboot of Sci Fi series SURVIVORS for BBC Studios; JUST THIEVES for Boatrocker Entertainment; and THE STABLE for Garrison Drama. He wrote two episodes for the 2nd Series of GANGS OF LONDON for Pulse/Sky Atlantic. Rowan is also in development on original series SQUARE MILE for Disney/Hulu, exec produced by Guy Ritchie and Ivan Atkinson.
On the feature side, he is attached to write THE GOLDEN BRIGADE for MBC/Basil Iwanyk/Thunder Road; THE LAST GUESTS for 42 and Netflix; BLACK OPS for Vertigo Films / Sky, with Ashley Walters attached to star; and MOST WANTED for Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8. He wrote the screenplay for the English language remake of SYMPATHY FOR MISTER VEGEANCE for De Bonaventura productions and Silver Reel Productions. He is writing supernatural horror IN HER SHADOW for Tea Shop and Bankside, which he will also direct.
Rowan has had screenplays feature on both the Brit List and the Hit List. He has received several accolades as director and writer, including being named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow prior to making his feature debut, and being named as a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit upon its release.
