The new Showmax Original documentary “Dark Side of Glory”, is set to delve into horrific crimes in the sporting world.
“I think we broadly have a perception that sport is glamorous, that it is a route to success, fame and wealth and more often than not, that is not the case,” director Arianna Perretta told “Independent Media Lifestyle”.
“In the cases we cover, it is the extreme version of that.”
The true-crime show, which premiered last Wednesday, begin with an episode titled, “The Durban Axe Murderer: The Rugby Killer.”
It follows former rugby player Joseph Ntshongwana, who was arrested for killing four men with an axe and wounding two others.
The sportsman, who played for South Africa at U21 level and for the Blue Bulls between 1998 and 2001, claimed to be avenging the gang rape and subsequent HIV infection of his daughter. However, upon further investigation, the police found that he had no children.
The documentary will also include an episode titled, “Death in the Heartlands”, which investigates the murders of three female runners in Kenya in 2021. They include Edith Muthoni, Agnes Tirop, who was murdered a day after the first victim, and Damaris Muthee Mutua, who was killed six months later.
All the women were allegedly killed by the men closest to them, their partners or coaches, and two of the murders took place in the elite running community of Iten, known as the Home of Champions.
“Joseph Ntshongwana played rugby at an elite level and had a degree of expectation around him and then didn’t make it and then ended up carrying out the most horrific crimes,” Perretta explained.
“And then Agnes Tirop, an Olympian and World Record-holder, was targeted and controlled and eventually lost her life because of that wealth and success.”
She believes that crime is such a common feature in the sporting world because of the high stakes associated with the industry.
“Where there is a high risk versus reward ratio, there will be people willing to exploit the system or the people involved.”
“That’s definitely what we see in ‘Death in the Heartlands’, where female athletes are exploited and controlled.”
She added that academic Dr Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu, one of the documentary’s expert contributors, noted on the show that elite sports people were often totally focused on that one goal of achieving victory.
“In a blinkered fashion, you become blind to the other dangers around you, that people may not be acting in your best interest, but in theirs, and this is definitely a feature we see time and again in the relationship between sport and crime.”
Other personalities featured in the documentary include the victims’ loved ones, police officers, state advocates, psychiatrists, sports journalists and key witnesses.
Perretta said that putting it together was challenging: “We were filming in multiple locations across both Africa and Europe on tight timescales.”
“We were also asking people to tell difficult stories and that has to be managed in a sensitive and responsible way.”
The Brazilian-born filmmaker decided to helm “Dark Side of Glory” after working on the award-winning documentary, “The Footballer, His Wife and the Car Crash”, which centred on a sportsman with a double life.
“These are important stories and I was delighted to collaborate on them,” she said.
Perretta added that she and her team were determined to put the victims front and centre and to ensure that their stories were properly told.
“Rather than focusing on the brutal aspects of the crimes we were covering in these two episodes was our challenge, and the fact that we achieved that was a real highlight.”
She said that there is a growing worldwide fascination with true-crime documentaries. “I think we have a desire to see the darkness but know that the light is there, that justice can be achieved”.
On what she hopes to achieve with “Dark Side of Glory”, Perretta said: “Our hope is that the public agree that, while these are raw and shocking stories, it is important that these cases are brought into the light and that we see positive outcomes and a real push for change”.
∎ “Dark Side of Glory” is streaming on Showmax, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday.