Tag Archives: under

Foul Play

Foul Play takes us into the shady world of football match fixing across Asia, where government officials and corporate club owners conspire to ensure that the outcome of the game is determined long before the whistle blows. We follow the story of Simon McMenemy – an English football coach parachuted in to save an Indonesian team after shooting to fame in the Philippines managing their national team. After overcoming his initial culture shock, it becomes clear that the best team doesn’t necessarily win.

A sophisticated network of match fixers have an iron grip on the game, players on low salaries are vulnerable to bribes and coaches who raise questions can be removed by team owners. 

Foul Play uncovers, with startling new evidence, a world where international tournaments are set up purely to be fixed, players are given specific instructions on exactly when to take a dive and even when the match isn’t fixed, the referees can ask for a kick back just to ref impartially. As Simon’s frustration grows, it becomes clear that the corruption that is choking Indonesian Football, is the same that is holding back the region across every field.

Informant

Informant examines Brandon Darby, a radical activist turned FBI informant who has been both vilified and deified, but never entirely understood.

In 2005, Darby became an overnight activist hero when he traveled to Katrina-devastated New Orleans and braved toxic floodwaters to rescue a friend stranded in the Ninth Ward. Soon after, he became a founding member of Common Ground, a successful grassroots relief organization.

After two young activists were arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention, Darby shocked close friends and activists nationwide by revealing he had been instrumental in the indictment as an FBI informant.

As the only film with access to Darby since his public confession, Informant meticulously constructs a portrait of his life – before and after the death threats – through interviews with Darby and tense reenactments starring the man himself.

Darby’s version of events are accompanied and often contradicted by commentary from acquaintances and expert commentators on various points along the political spectrum.

“The unreliable-narrator docu develops a new wrinkle or two with “Informant.” Jamie Meltzer’s engrossing portrait lets Brandon Darby tell his own story – of a self-proclaimed far-left, anti-government activist-turned-FBI snitch now feted at Tea Party gatherings –while fellow travelers cast doubt on that testimony every step of the way. An absorbing puzzle with the potential to intrigue viewers all along the political spectrum.”
– Dennis Harvey, Variety

“A kind of ‘Fog of War’ for the age of Occupy”
– Indiewire

“The force of Darby’s personality – a rich stew of righteousness, arrogance and self-delusion — gives the doc a psychological appeal independent of politics… it deserves a theatrical run.”
-John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter