IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE UK & IRISH RELEASE OF
DIEGO MARADONA
FROM THE MULTI BAFTA & ACADEMY AWARD®-WINNING TEAM BEHIND
AMY & SENNA
ASIF KAPADIA, JAMES GAY-REES, CHRIS KING & ANTONIO PINTO
IN UK & IRISH CINEMAS NATIONWIDE FROM 14 JUNE
London, 26 March 2019 – On 14 June 2019, the multi BAFTA and Academy Award®-winning team behind SENNA (2010) and AMY (2015) complete their hat-trick with the highly anticipated release of DIEGO MARADONA. Featuring exclusive interviews with Diego Maradona and constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from his personal archive, this is the story behind the greatest football player of all time.
DIEGO MARADONA, is an On The Corner Films production and comes from the lauded filmmaking team of Academy Award® & BAFTA winning director Asif Kapadia, Academy Award® & BAFTA winning producer James Gay-Rees, BAFTA winning editor Chris King and music by Golden Globe nominee Antonio Pinto. The film is also produced by Paul Martin (RONALDO)and will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland by Altitude, the distributors of the critically acclaimed and box office record-breaking AMY.
A first still from the film is now available HERE.
Director Asif Kapadia commented: “DIEGO MARADONA is about an uneducated streetwise kid from a shantytown, thrust into the height of worldwide fame, earning huge amounts of money, given a Godlike status, all because of his magical left foot. I wanted to try to understand this charismatic genius, to show all sides of his personality, focussing on his time in Naples, when he became the greatest player in the world, but also where his problems began to spiral out of control. It was vital to make a film about Diego which appeals to people who love football but also those who have little interest in sport or who see Maradona as a cheat. I wanted to challenge these preconceptions and to understand this complex, brilliant character – enabling him to tell his story in his own words, revealing his struggles for success but also the devastating effects of fame and fortune.”
Having never won a major tournament, ailing football giant SSC Napoli had underachieved. Their fanatical support was unequalled in both passion and size. None was more feared. But how they ached for success…
On 5th July 1984, Diego Maradona arrived in Naples for a world-record fee and for seven years all hell broke loose. The world’s most celebrated football genius and the most dysfunctional city in Europe were a perfect match for each other. Maradona was blessed on the field but cursed off it; the charismatic Argentine, quickly led Naples to their first-ever title. It was the stuff of dreams.
But there was a price… Diego could do as he pleased whilst performing miracles on the pitch, but when the magic faded he became almost a prisoner of the city.
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