Director Todd J. Stein Brings Personal Truth to the Screen with The Final Fight and a Seed&Spark Crowdfunding Campaign

Jack Ahern Covers The Final Fight for Our Town

Josh Davis as Scott Cohen and Tom Hair Martin Cohen

Todd “TJ” Stein, The Final Fight Filmmaker

Trini Alvarado takes on the role of The Reporter

Todd and Marvin, Circa 1970’s

The Final Fight is a short narrative film written and directed by Todd J. Stein.

NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, June 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Inspired by Stein’s real-life family experience and the New York Times story about his father Marvin Stein’s guardianship battle, the film is a fictionalized drama about family, justice, aging, and the fight to protect a loved one from a system built to overpower them. For Stein, it became clear that The Final Fight was a story he needed to direct himself. After interviewing several directors, he realized how important it was to preserve the authenticity of the characters, the emotional truth of the story, and the integrity of the script he had spent years developing. Because the film was rooted in his own family experience, Stein felt a deep responsibility to make sure the direction did not veer from the heart of what he had written.

The project came together through years of work, persistence, and collaboration with an incredible cast and crew who believed in what The Final Fight represented. Finding the right people was a process. Stein met with different collaborators before organically connecting with a team that understood the material and shared his commitment to telling the story honestly. That connection created a level of trust and comfort that became essential to the production.

Following the success of the film’s first successful crowdfunding campaign, which helped support pre-production expenses, Stein and his team have launched a second crowdfunding campaign to help carry the project through post-production. The new campaign is focused on supporting key finishing costs, including editing, sound, color, festival materials, and the film’s original score.

“We are incredibly proud of the team behind this project,” Stein said. “Everyone involved has been deeply invested in the film and in what this story represents. We are looking forward to its festival journey and believe this short can become a strong proof of concept for the feature film.” From the first day on set, it was clear that those who showed up were meant to be on set. The energy was right.

Stein was especially grateful to work with Casting Director Adrienne Stern, whom he has known for many years. Stern had followed Stein’s real-life journey and was honored when he asked her to cast the film. “When Todd Stein reached out to me about casting The Final Fight, a film deeply personal to him and inspired by his fight to free his father, Marvin Stein, from an unprecedented guardianship, I knew I had an important responsibility,” Stern said. “My goal was not only to find actors who physically resembled the real people, but performers who shared an emotional connection to the material and genuinely cared about bringing this story to life. We looked for actors who could honor the truth of the family’s experience and tell it in the most meaningful way possible.”

Lead actor Josh Davis, who portrays Scott Cohen, the film’s fictionalized version of Stein, was drawn to the project because of its authenticity and social impact. “This is a real family, a real fight, and a real man who almost had his entire life taken from him. There’s nothing more interesting and meaningful as an actor than helping to tell a story like this. Scott is a flawed character (most of the interesting ones are), but he shows up anyway. He’s a guy trying to do the right thing despite all the challenges he faces. Getting to portray someone like that and bring to light how many people are trapped in guardianship with no one in their corner is not only powerful, it’s necessary.” Josh Davis, who plays Scott Cohen in The Final Fight.

The team is preparing for a strategic film festival run, with top-tier festival selections and a carefully considered wish list of submissions. Stein believes that the right festival exposure can help bring meaningful attention to the short film while also creating momentum for the larger feature version of The Final Fight. Our goal is to bring attention to the project and develop the feature film.

As a social justice piece, The Final Fight highlights issues affecting vulnerable individuals and families while resonating with audiences of all generations. The short film serves as a proof of concept for a larger feature film. Marvin Stein’s story first gained national attention in the New York Times cover story, “The Fight of This Old Boxer’s Life Was With His Own Family,” written by reporter John Leland. More recently, the story was featured in Our Town’s article, “The Final Fight: Real-Life East Side Guardianship Saga Turned Into Potent Drama,” by journalist Jack Ahern. Our website shares a lot of the films recognition at thefinalfightfilm.com.

“My father’s legacy is finally being recognized,” Stein said. “Through narrative storytelling, we hope to bring awareness to the countless families whose stories have been silenced by guardianship abuse and similar injustices. If The Final Fight can help spark a larger conversation and shine a light on those who feel they have no voice, then we’ve accomplished something meaningful.”

For Stein, sharing the deeply personal journey to terminate his father’s guardianship is about more than revisiting the past. It is about honoring Marvin Stein’s legacy while helping others who continue to face similar battles.

About Todd J. Stein: Stein isa filmmaker, talent manager, and community advocate. His work on The Final Fight is rooted in his personal experience fighting to terminate his father Marvin Stein’s guardianship and in his belief that independent film can bring urgent human stories to light.

Colin Harp
Team Stein
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