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Icarus (2017) documentary poster

Documentary Style

Topical

Icarus

Why Watch

Starts as a doping experiment, becomes a geopolitical thriller. This Oscar-winning documentary exposes state-sponsored corruption at a scale that will leave you stunned.

Year

2017

Type

film

Runtime

120 min

Language

English

Director

Bryan Fogel

Genres

ScienceSportsPolitics

Summary

What begins as a personal investigation into whether an amateur athlete can beat the doping system takes an extraordinary turn when filmmaker Bryan Fogel connects with the head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory.

As their relationship deepens, his collaborator reveals something far bigger than cycling's doping problem—evidence of a massive state-sponsored doping program that helped Russian athletes cheat at the highest levels of international competition, including the Olympics. The film transforms into a real-time geopolitical thriller as the whistleblower risks everything to expose the truth while the Russian government closes in.

An Oscar-winning exposé that reveals how corruption operates at the intersection of sports, science, and state power.