Two Vineyard seasonal residents took home Oscar awards Sunday as co-producers of Icarus, the winner for best feature documentary film.
Vineyard summer residents Jim Swartz and David Fialkow joined director Bryan Fogel and co-producer Dan Cogan on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to accept the award.
Icarus began as a film about the world of illegal doping in sports and ended up helping expose Russian doping in the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi. Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov became the film’s subject and the film exposed state-sponsored use of banned performance-enhancing drugs by Russian athletes.
Dr. Rodchenkov fled to the United States out of fear for his life.
Mr. Swartz is a seasonal resident of Edgartown and a co-founder of Island nonprofit organization MVYouth. He also co-founded Impact Partners, the production company that produced Icarus. The company is dedicated to funding documentaries with a social justice bent.
Mr. Fialkow is a seasonal resident of West Tisbury and also a trustee of MVYouth.
At the Oscars Sunday, Mr. Fogel, the director, thanked Mr. Swartz and Mr. Fialkow, who were on the stage for the award acceptance. “We dedicate this award to Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, our fearless whistle blower who now lives in grave danger,” he said. “We hope Icarus is a wake up call, yes, about Russia, but also about the importance of telling the truth, now more than ever.”
Mr. Cogan thanked Impact Partners.
The movie premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and screened last summer in Chilmark as part of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival. Netflix later purchased the film for $5 million. It is available to watch through the Netflix streaming service.
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