Pitch Productions promotes ahead of Figo doc
Netflix has announced the launch of the latest documentary from London-based Pitch Productions. El Caso Figo (The Figo Affair) and Pitch has two senior promotions within his team.
The Spanish-language documentary unveils the story of how Luis Figo’s move from Barcelona to Real Madrid came about, “a twisted tale of backroom deals, a truly historic sporting rivalry and a deep cultural divide”.
It was directed by award-winning duo David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas, who also directed Pitch’s Netflix documentary biopic pele, which launched last year. Pitch executive producer Marie-Denise Dormis produced the film. It was developed by Max Dobbyn, who also served as Consulting Producer after joining Lightbox as Development Manager in 2020.
David Tryhorn says, “Following the success of Pelé, Ben and I are delighted to partner with Netflix again El Caso Figo.
“It’s getting harder and harder to find sports documentaries that say something new that aren’t just biographies or sporting success stories, we think El Caso Figo is unique. Focused on the transfer rather than Figo’s career, the film fills us in on truth, greed, morality and the inner workings of the world’s most popular sport.
“We wanted the film to feel like a Hitchcock thriller, one that plays with notions of truth. Also, we just wanted to interview people with first-hand testimonies about the transfer so the drama could play out in the present tense.
“We were pleased that everyone involved in the transaction was willing to participate fully. Everyone from Florentino Peréz to Pep Guardiola has been generous with their time, but Luís Figo was particularly accommodating and desperate to finally set the record straight after two decades of avoiding the question of his transfer.”
With four more premium feature-length documentaries in production, as well as a four-part series on football’s transfer window with NBCUniversal for Sky, Pitch is reshaping its senior team.
After more than a decade at Pitch El Caso Figo Director David Tryhorn has been named creative director. Reporting to COO Jonathan Rogers, David will oversee Pitch’s productions and creative strategy. He will be joined by Max Dobbyn, who has been promoted to Head of Documentaries but will continue to lead the development team.
COO Jonathan Rogers says: “El Caso Figo marks the next phase in the evolution of pitch production. It demonstrates our desire to break new ground in sports documentary at a key time in the evolution of the genre, which is telling more sports stories than ever before.
“The film draws on the talents of the company’s two principal creatives, David Tryhorn and Max Dobbyn.
“Our goal is for the craftsmanship, creativity and diligence that David brings to the projects he manages to become Pitch’s hallmark. For this reason he was appointed Creative Director to exert his influence on all our productions.
“Each of our current commissions has been guided through development by Max, whose originality and flair for stories have laid the foundation for the company’s recent growth.
“We’re proud of the variety in our production and are confident that our next installment of documentaries – which includes a climbing film and an observation series – will pick up from there El Caso Figo pushing the sports documentary genre into new territory, securing access unmatched by other production companies and giving viewers a privileged insight into the lives and motivations of exceptional athletes.”
Pitch produced for Amazon Andy Murray: Reappearance and All or nothing: Brazil national team. Pitch produced the Netflix biopic for Netflix pele and co-produced the streamer’s Neymar series, The perfect mess.
Jon Creamer
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