Zimbalist ’02 Co-Directs The Two Escobars

Brothers Jeff and Michael Zimbalist ’02 have directed The Two Escobars, a documentary about the infiltration of drug money into professional soccer in Colombia during the 1980s and ’90s.

The subjects of the film are Pablo Escobar, a founder of the Medellin cartel who poured some of his wealth from cocaine trafficking into pro soccer, and Andrés Escobar, a star of the national team who accidentally kicked a ball into his own team’s goal at the 1994 World Cup.

The film was screened at the  Tribeca Film Festival in New York City in April as part of the World Documentary Competition. It will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival this month and on ESPN on June 22.

The filmmakers recently talked to the New York Times and Indie Wire about the film.

In their interview in Indie Wire, the brothers commented: “On our filmmaking journey through diverse walks of Colombian society, it became clear that this was far from a classic “deal-with-the-devil” narrative. Rather, this was the story of the passions and dreams of a people intrinsically tied to the rise and fall of a team of unlikely warriors . . . Stories such as this revive our childhood fascination with sports and confirm the fundamental role they play in shaping our world.”

Excerpt from the film at ESPN.com