“Death in the Heartlands”, the second episode of the local documentary “Dark Side of Glory” will go head to head with Michael Owen’s “Football is for Everyone”, at the prestigious Broadcast Sports Awards.
The Showmax Original, which premiered in August, has been nominated for Sports Documentary of the Year- Over 60 Minutes at the ceremony which will be held in London on November 14.
Apart from the England striker’s documentary, the rest of the nominees in the category are Ronnie O'Sullivan’s “The Edge of Everything”, which was produced by Studio 99 for Amazon Prime Video as well as “Storyville: Made Of Steel” from the Noah Media Group for BBC.
The other nominees are “SVEN”, a production which delves into the career of the late football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson as well as Netflix’s “Wembley The Final: Attack on Wembley” and “Whistleblowers”, produced by World Rugby Studios in Partnership with Noah & HBS for RugbyPass TV.
The awards celebrate the best sports content on TV and digital platforms, including sports documentaries and live sport production.
Meanwhile, the episode which was nominated 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.
In addition, two of the murders happened in the elite running community of Iten, known as the Home of Champions.
Tirop, an Olympian and two-time World Athletic Championship medalist, was found stabbed to death in her home there, soon after clinching a 10 000m world record in Germany.
It was directed by Brazilian film-maker Arianna Perretta and was produced by CMG Productions
Meanwhile, the other personalities featured in this episode of the documentary include the victims’ loved ones, police officers, state advocates, psychiatrists, sports journalists and key witnesses.
“The nomination of ‘Death in the Heartlands’ for Best Documentary at the prestigious Broadcast Sport Awards is a testament to the powerful stories of Agnes Tirop, Damaris Mutua and Edith Muthoni, the courage of their families and the injustice of their deaths,” Claire McArdle, the co-CEO of CMG Productions said.
“The tragic killing of another female athlete , Rebecca Cheptegei, mere weeks after this documentary aired highlights how it is our responsibility as film-makers to continue to tell these stories and push to affect change.”
Meanwhile, the two-part series also includes an episode called “The Durban Axe Murderer: The Rugby Killer” which follows former rugby player Joseph Ntshongwana, who was arrested for killing four men with an axe and wounding two others.