[4] Ultimately, it is the story of Lethwei's survival through the dark periods of Myanmar's tough military rule and the country's gradual transition toward a quasi democracy.
[6] The documentary, shot prior to the opening of the country's borders in 2011, takes advantage of a unique archive of rare photos, manuscripts, footage and training documents assembled from the research that took the director close to two decades to compile.
[9] Born Warriors Redux: Bound Fists is a special director's cut of the second documentary that focuses more on the rural communities that have been the sport's lifeblood since ancient times.
The original footage was not intended for a documentary, but as visual support documentation for the Vanishing Flame, a cross-cultural book on the bare-knuckle fighting arts of Southeast Asia and India.
[11] The situation escalated in 2005, when Vincent and Associate Producer and Music Composer Camus Celli visited the compound of the late author and political activist Min Theinkha to film his Lethwei club in Hmawbi township.
In July 2012, Giordano released a limited-edition DVD entitled Born to Battle: Burma vs. Thailand via his Vanishing Flame underground newsletter.
[11] Associate Producer Paul Nikitopoulos, who was living in Yangon at the time, provided the impetus for a totally new video shoot that spread over three years and was completed on a shoestring budget.
[15] During the long production and development process, Vincent Giordano personally taught and hosted seminars and clinics from 1990 through early 2020 with some of the top Southeast Asian and India martial artists through his NYCA school in New York City.
[17][18] The Born Warriors edit was further refined, and a second show was assembled by Burmese Bando Master Mary Mester and held at the Real Art Ways theater in Hartford, Connecticut in October 2011.
In an effort to raise funds to complete the Born Warriors project, a third show was held on June 16, 2012 at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City.
[19] Editor Robert Reiter of Muay Thaimes magazine offered to publish an article to support the documentary after attending the early screenings, and a piece written by Giordano appeared in the Spring 2012 issue.