Mark Mahon headed to Fort Lauderdale this weekend to promote his latest film, "Strength and Honour," and Celebrity News Service got a chance to catch up with Mahon and discuss the film with the Irish director.

"Strength and Honour" tells the story of an Irish-American boxer who accidentally kills his friend in the ring and afterwards, promises his wife that he will never box again. Years later, the boxer, played by Michael Madsen, discovers that his only son is dying of the same hereditary heart condition that killed his wife and is forced to break his promise in order to pay for the surgery needed to save his four-year-old son.

The film is Mahon's directorial debut and he also wrote and produced the film that was filmed in Cork, Ireland. Mahon storyboarded the entire script, something which is unheard of in the industry.

Mahon states, "In reality, I did it so there would be no miscommunication with what I was trying to achieve visually. Even my opening shot could have proved difficult, as the inside of the ring was well lit and darkness magically touches the ropes but remains outside, so I wanted the camera to crane up, over and around the ring."

"The hidden message in the shot is that there is a fine line between good and evil, right and wrong, darkness and light. By handing storyboards to each department head, everybody knew what I wanted to achieve."

Mahon told CNS that movie is a story of hope. He says, "It has become so common for the protagonist to fail in the end, some people might say it is predictable, however, but I think it is unpredictable to have the good guy win. I think there is a lot of negativity in the world and movies influence society to one degree or another. I'm all about hope."

The film has won 18 awards and made its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2007. The movie also stars Richard Chamberlain, Gail Fitzpatrick, Patrick Bergin and Vinnie Jones.