6 must watch sports documentaries of all times

Documentaries are usually seen as a source of information and not really a form of entertainment. However, as the lines blur between different segments of storytelling and the quality and access to films improve; documentaries too are now consumed as infotainment. One of the most interesting genres among documentaries is sports and the key reason being that they show that there is a lot more to our favourite games that meet the eye. The behind the scenes stories, the politics, the underdogs, the forgotten figures and incidents and the making of the heroes. Money and the love for the game turn out to be the two overlapping themes as wells, no matter what the sport.

Here are some of the must watch documentaries telling the most intriguing stories from the field of sports.

Fire in Babylon
It felt appropriate to start off with a cricket documentary, given that Pakistan is known to be a cricket crazy nation.

Fire in Babylon is a 2010 British documentary film that revolves around the West Indies cricket team and their record breaking streak of the 1970s and 80s. A compilation of interviews and stock footage of many of the former players and officials, the film is written and directed by Stevan Riley. It was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Documentary and was the joint winner with Reggae Britannia of the UNESCO Award at the Jamaica Reggae Film Festival 2011.

The crux of the film is the journey it documents of the West Indies cricket team from being a group of individual talented and entertaining players to a dominating unit that took over the game for almost twenty years. Supported of ‘green shirts’, will be able to relate to this story for sure.

Diego Maradona
Anybody around the world with the slighted interest in football, knows this name. Maradona passed away on 25 November 2020, and the tributes from around the world were a testament of what he meant to the sport and to its fans.

This again is a British documentary film of 2019, directed by Asif Kapadia. The film includes never seen before archival footages and was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2019. In addition to being the story of one of the most popular figure of football, the USP of this film is the rare footage that was discovered from Maradona’s ex-wife’s storage.

Senna
This is a 2010 British French documentary film about the life and death of the Brazilian motor racing champion, Ayrton Senna. This too is directed by Asif Kapadia and is known as one of the best sports documentaries of all times.

The film documents Senna’s Formula One racing career, from when he debuted in the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix to his death in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix accident. There is a special emphasis on his rivalry with Alain Prost. The bulk of the film is a combination of archived footage from the racetrack and clips from home videos shared by his family, and the stand out part is the lack of any formal commentary.

The Dawn Wall
Everyone has at some point enjoyed extreme sports, even those who don’t follow is religiously have had our share of thrill seeking from their videos. The Dawn Wall, is an awe inspiring documentary film that takes the viewers to the world’s most forbidding rock, Yosemite’s Dawn Wall, with known daredevils, Tommy Cladwell and Kevin Jorgeson. They made history with the 2015 free climb that is the subject of this film.

The climbing duo lived on this steep, 3,000 foot rock face for weeks and their journey will keep you hooked, albeit from the edge of your couch.

Icarus
This 2017 documenatry film by Bryan Fogel has a major political thriller feel to it. Icarus revolves around the subject of Russia’s Olympic doping programme. Uncovering the extent of involvement of the government here, the film won the Academy Award in 2018 for the best documentary feature film.

Even if you have followed the incident and its coverage before, this film will still be of key interest.

The Speed Cubers
This is a sports docuemnatry film that does not revolve around one of the main stream action sports. It revolves around the lives of speedcubing champions, Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs.

Directed by Sue Kim, The Speed Cubers came out this year, and focuses on the friendship and rivalry between the two champions. Through this film we get to learn about the craft that goes into solving a Rubik’s Cube with speed and generally leaves you with a very feel good sensation.

Originally published at https://pk.mashable.com on December 10, 2020.