Jewish director at helm of BBC documentary The Trials of Oscar Pistorious

Four-part documentary tells the rise and fall of ‘Blade Runner’, the South African Paralympian convicted of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in 2013

By Francine Wolfisz October 28, 2020, 6:12 pm Edit

Francine Wolfisz was Features Editor for Jewish News.

Bafta award-winning director Daniel Gordon (Hillsborough, George Best: All By Himself) and producer John Battsek (Searching For Sugar Man and One Day In September) have teamed up for riveting BBC documentary, The Trials of Oscar Pistorius.

The four-part series tells the story of the ‘Blade Runner’, the South African Paralympic star who inspired millions with his sporting achievements until Valentine’s Day 2013, when he was accused of brutally murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

More than a dozen of those closest to the story, including Reeva’s close friend, Kim Myers and her mother, Desi Myers, help recount Pistorius’s subsequent fall from grace and conviction.

According to Pistorius, the event was a tragic accident, but his troubled past and questionable testimony cast doubt on his innocence.

Gordon says: “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. My hope is that the film gives audiences additional context and layers to a story they think they know.”