When filmmaker Bryan Fogel sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with renegade scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov — head of Russia’s “anti-doping” program — transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and poorly administered hormone injections, Fogel and his subject grow closer and closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program. When the truth is more complex than imagined, and accusations of corruption run to Russia’s highest chains of command, the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal of all time.

REVIEWS

“Never has the story been told with the urgency of Bryan Fogel’s new doc, Icarus, a real-life absurdist thriller, in its electric coverage of one Russian scandal.”
— Village Voice

“As he is taken for the ride of his life, Fogel’s... project [has] its camera aimed squarely at an international scandal.”
— RogerEbert.com

“A coup for a first-time documentarian.”
— The Atlantic

“If you want insight into cheating in sports and the complicated reasons why it happens over and over, Icarus will open your eyes as never before. It is essential viewing for anyone interested in athletics or competitive sports of any type.”
— The Globe and Mail

“The pleasure here is in learning the behind-the-scenes stories pertaining to a world customarily fronted only by athletes who, in this telling, are reduced to mere pawns in an international chess game dominated by politics, power, prestige and big bucks.”
— The Hollywood Reporter

“Maybe the best non-fiction movie of the year.”
— Financial Times

“A Game Changing documentary.”
— Variety

“A truly absorbing piece of filmmaking.”
— Indie Wire

“An Exceptionally Riveting Portrait.”
— Vogue