The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius is ESPN’s latest instalment in its Peabody and Emmy award-winning 30 for 30 series.
The four-part documentary series premieres weekly from Thursday 19 November, 2020 at 8pm (CAT on ESPN on DStv 218), with repeats each Sunday at 8pm from 22 November, 2020. The series will also be available on DStv Catch Up, as well as via the ESPN Player App.
Directed by BAFTA award-winner Daniel Gordon (Hillsborough, George Best: All By Himself) and produced by Academy Award-winner John Battsek (Searching for Sugarman, One Day in September), the documentary tells the story of the South African paralympic sprinter who inspired millions with his determination – and who was later at the centre of a murder investigation.
The circus that surrounded the tragic death of Reeva Steenkamp became just as much a story of the time as his initial rise to glory.
Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius on ESPN DSTV 218, 8pm
Part 1: Thursday, 19 November at 8pm. Repeat Sunday, 22 November.
Part 2: Thursday, 26 November at 8pm. Repeat Sunday, 29 November.
Part 3: Thursday, 3 December at 8pm. Repeat Sunday, 6 December.
Part 4: Thursday, 10 December at 8pm. Repeat Sunday, 13 December.
The films will also be available to view on DStv Catch Up and the ESPN Player App.
“The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius is the culmination of an exceptional year of work from ESPN Films,” says said Evert van der Veer, Vice President, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa. “This latest entry in the iconic 30 for 30 library is another example of how ESPN continues to build on its legacy as the home of the best storytelling in sports, joining films such as LANCE, Be Water, Long Gone Summer and more, which we are thrilled to be bringing to audiences across the continent.”
Featuring interviews with people closest to the story, the film recounts Pistorius’s fall from grace after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of 14 February, 2013, in his home in Pretoria, South Africa.
According to Pistorius, the event was an accident, but his troubled past and questionable testimony cast doubt on his innocence. As the saga unfolds, the story flashes back to the very beginning of the future paralympic star’s life, chronicling his scent from a boy who had both his undeveloped legs amputated as a toddler to overnight teenage phenomenon at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games.
Shattering records and convention, The Blade Runner went on a quest to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics. His struggle against international track and field officials continued for years before Pistorius finally prevailed and competed at the London Olympics in 2012. Less than a year later, he was in a South African courtroom, accused of murdering Reeva.
“The story of Oscar Pistorius is remarkable in its complexity. It’s at once inspirational and harrowing, and provides a lens of insight into a breadth of issues – from gender-based violence to disability rights, racial inequality and media frenzy,” said director Daniel Gordon. “My hope is that the film gives audiences additional context and layers to a story they think they know.”
What: Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius
Where: ESPN DSTV 218
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