Synopsis
Rabbit Punch is a short film about a young Congolese refugee boy, who found sanctuary, and ultimately family, in a Moss Side boxing club. Brutalised at home and misplacing his aggression at school, 14 year old Job slips free of his teacher after a violent playground outburst. Out alone on the streets, Job follows his instincts and he races against a van, driven by two coaches, Trav and Dylan from Moss Side Fire Station Boxing club. In a fast paced race through the streets of Moss Side, Job races the van for the joy of the chase, for just a moment forgetting his troubles. Trav and Dylan who witness his phenomenal speed and agility are intrigued by the unknown stray, who is he, where has he come from, no one seems to know. Job disappears as suddenly as he appeared.
The battlefield at home intensifies when Job’s imposing father learns of his son’s misconduct at school and delivers his own particularly brutal punishment. The two are less than a family, missing Job’s mother and uprooted from their homeland, caught in a pattern of abuse and distress.
Injured and isolated, Job skips school and returning home Job discovers his teacher making an unwelcome and fateful house call, this humiliation is the final straw for Job’s father, who attacks his son in front of the teacher. She intervenes, and Job has a chance to escape.
Homeless, Job breaks into the empty gym and sleeps there for the night, floor mats for his pillow. Discovered in the morning by Trav, the straight talking coach sends Dylan to find out where Job has come from and takes him under the wing, not failing to notice during training this baby-faced newcomer can pack a punch, and is lightning fast in the ring. Pairing Job with his star fighter Mike, Trav hands him a kit and initiaties him into the club. Job’s crowing moment takes place inside the ring, coached by Trav and watched with admiration by the other boxers, now his teammates.
When the police arrive, with Job’s teacher and Dylan in tow, Trav and the entire gym rally around to stop him from being taken to a police cell for the night, a last resort to finding an emergency foster placement. Trav and Dylan come up trumps, with all the relevant checks, Trav fits the bill – of faster father. We see Job hanging his kit and gloves in his new room, in Trav’s house. He finally belongs.