(Realscreen) — After news broke that American track and field coach Alberto Salazar was banned from the sport, one piece of the story specifically caught the attention of filmmaker Paul Kemp.
Salazar (pictured) was renowned and respected, backed by the biggest brand in sports in Nike. But what was so strange about his ban for alleged doping offences, to Kemp (pictured), was that none of his athletes ever tested positive for banned substances.
“How do you get banned from a sport when none of your athletes do?” Kemp asked.
“My goal as the director was to cold call those involved, and ask that question,” he tells Realscreen. “I was a former national level runner myself, so I think that set many people at ease. I think most realized I came into this story with an open mind.”
Kemp’s new documentary, Nike’s Big Bet: Alberto Salazar and the Fine Line of Sport, will play at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival beginning today (April 29). The investigative documentary film was produced by Paul Kemp Productions and Cream Films, in association with Canadian national daily newspaper, Globe and Mail. Kemp served as producer and director, while Corey Russell of Cream Films also served as an executive producer.