I'm not a boxing fan, but I was surprised to find out that neither is Diego Luna, considering the fact that he makes his directorial debut at Tribeca with CHAVEZ, a 78-minute documentary about Mexico's greatest boxer.

"I wasn't a boxing fan, I was a fan of Julio Cesar Chavez," Luna said. It seems there's a difference, and, after watching his movie, I now know why.

The film follows Mexico's most successful boxer, who, with 107 wins, one draw, and six losses, is legendary in his home country and around the world. The film traces his roots from Sinaloa, Mexico, to the height of international fame. Chavez jokes he was meant to be a boxer, that he even punched and kicked so hard while still in the womb that his mother's water broke early. Ironically, the documentary begins with Chavez giving an interview recommending that kids don't pursue professional boxing because of the worry and strain it will cause their families. Yet both of Chavez's sons are now boxers, and, as Executive Producer Gael Garcia Bernal put it, "Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is kicking everyone's ass right now!"

Luna centers the narrative mostly around Chavez's career and his relationship with his son, interspersing interviews with Cesar Jr. and other figures from the boxer's life. Most interestingly, the filmmaker examines the consequences of Chavez's friendship with former Mexico president Salinas, using Chavez's life as something of a metaphor for what was going on in the country at the time. 1994 was a year of insecurity, with the peso devaluating, a revolution in Chiapas, the assassination of presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, kidnappings, and near-eruption of the Popocatepetl volcano. It was also the time Chavez was investigated for tax evasion and accused of collaborating with narcotraffickers.

"Chavez as a character symbolizes a lot about Mexico," said Luna.

When first approached by Luna about participating in the movie, Chavez misunderstood that the Y Tu Mama Tambien actor was going to play him. "He said to me, 'but Diego, you're too skinny!'" Luna said, laughing. When Chavez comprehended it would not be Luna but he who would be the star, "he told me a lot," Luna said. "Maybe too much."

CHAVEZ is, above all, a human story, the highs and lows of a larger-than-life heroic figure's battle to the top, and his struggle within.