Some of the most famous documentaries of recent decades have come from the sports field, including circle dreams (1994), when we were kings (nineteen ninety six), Sign (2010), DO: Made in America (2016), Icarus (2017) and The Last Dance (2020).
Netflix continues this distinctive tradition with Emmy Sports Link’s rival documentary series: not spokenEmmy winning directors McLain and Chapman Way e noemi osakaDirector Oscar-nominated director Garrett Bradley (Weather). Bradley’s documentary on the 24-year-old tennis sensation, winner of four Grand Slam titles, explores the history of Osaka as the daughter of a Japanese mother and Haitian father, her emergence as a player and activist for racial justice and her outspokenness. Focus on mental health issues in the public spotlight.
Bradley sees Osaka as the vanguard of a new kind of superstar athlete. “You connect with people not as an unattainable and too unattainable aspiration,” the director told Netflix’s FYSEE panel in Hollywood. “You connect with people by sharing your experiences and your journey. And I think more and more this is what people are asking … it’s really coming to the fore. “
road of the brothers not spoken It consists of five episodes, each of which looks at an overlooked or misunderstood story or sports figure. The episode, titled “Breaking Point”, focuses on former American tennis player Mardy Fish, who suffered a panic attack before his biggest match of the 2012 US Open against Roger Federer. She later made a bold decision, speaking publicly about anxiety disorder.
“He was really the first professional athlete even before he had a mental illness record,” Chapman Way said at the FYSEE event. “It was 2015, which at the time was almost incredibly dangerous for an athlete talking to Mardi and realizing that she really wanted to pull back the curtain and talk openly about her mental health and her struggles. For us as directors, I think we realized that. This is just an incredible story that needs to be documented.
Another episode focuses on Christy Martin, one of the first professional female boxing stars to fight against the gay reveal. She also played the abusive husband who shot and stabbed her during a near-fatal attack in 2010. Meanwhile, “Evil at the Palace” takes a look at the famous incident in the 2004 NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and host Detroit. Pistons, when a fight broke out between disobedient fans and the Pacers stars. Commentators at the time called the African American Pacers “thugs” and demanded that the incident be viewed through a racial lens. The league abandoned the players, ignoring video evidence that Pistons supporters were responsible for the brawl.
the not spoken The Caitlin Jenner episode is about a man we thought we knew everything about, but uses unprecedented footage of Jenner’s sports scores and simultaneous struggles to reconcile his gender identity.
“The main engine of these documentaries, the central conflict, really has nothing to do with any of our films, who will win, who will lose, who will win the championship,” explained McLain Wayne. “It’s always good for us, that sport is the atmosphere. But it will be Mardy Fish and the documentary Mental Health, if it’s “Evil in the Palace” and how these professional basketball players have been portrayed all their lives, it will be Caitlin Jenner and gender identity issues, Christy Martin and domestic violence ? . He met in his life: we are always interested in how to take these stories and grow them beyond the court, beyond the realm.
the same is said noemi osaka, which places the tennis star’s efforts to define himself and establish his identity in the context of broader social issues. At the 2020 US Open, when the United States faced the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer, Osaka stepped onto the pitch for each game in a different guise, recognizing blacks killed in racist or racist incidents. including Floyd, Trevyn Marvin. , Tamir Rice, Ahmad Arber, Breona Taylor, Philando Castilla and Elijah McLain.
Bradley describes the evolution of Osaka as “a purpose, self-esteem and the courage to identify with one another and also tap into personal values and then try to see if they can really fit your business, your public self. “. This is a very young age, what he was doing and in a very public space on stage. “
noemi osaka Tour on Netflix as it is not spoken And two other documentaries, directed by McLain and Chapman Way, a 2014 film Injured baseball bastards And the mega success of 2018 wild wild countryPrimetime Emmy Winner for Outstanding Documentary or Non-Feature Series.
Check out Netflix’s FYSEE panel noemi osaka Y not spoken Click on the video above.
Source: Deadline
