Director and Producer
Bryan Fogel is an American film director, producer, author and playwright best known for directing the Oscar-winning 2017 documentary thriller ICARUS. The film follows Fogel and the renegade Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of his country’s “anti-doping” program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program. Fogel helped Rodchenkov navigate the crisis by assisting with legal counsel, immigration advice, coordination with the FBI, CIA, and the DOJ and ultimately, the hopeful political asylum of Dr. Rodchenkov. In exposing a conspiracy that spanned more than four decades, Fogel revealed and intricately documented the biggest international sports scandal in living memory.
In December 2017, the IOC banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics, citing, in addition to sworn testimony and forensic evidence, the revelations set forth in ICARUS. It is the most wide-ranging punishment ever meted out by the IOC on a participating nation, let alone a powerhouse of the Olympic movement. For a nation where sports is a war without weapons, it is a stunning blow to national pride.
ICARUS film received rave reviews and won the first-ever Special Jury Orwell Award at 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at Sundance London among many other accolades. It was acquired by Netflix in one of the largest nonfiction deals in history. ICARUS was named Best Documentary by the Academy Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA; Fogel has been nominated for Best Director of a Documentary by the Directors Guild of America and won the 2018 Edward R. Murrow Award.
Fogel has appeared among others on ABC Nightline, Charlie Rose, Seth Meyers, Joe Rogan, CNN, ESPN, The View and has been featured in publications around the globe.
Fogel began his career in Hollywood pursuing stand-up comedy and acting. Fogel, in partnership with Sam Wolfson, developed, co-wrote, and initially starred in the play Jewtopia, an off-Broadway comedy about the dating lives of two young men seeking Jewish women. It is one of the longest-running and fastest-recouping productions in Off-Broadway history. He also co-authored the book Jewtopia: The Chosen Guide for the Chosen People, and directed, co-wrote and produced the feature film adaptation of Jewtopia which was released in 2013. The film won the audience choice award of the 2012 Malibu International Film Festival.
He is an avid amateur cyclist and has participated in Haute Route. He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
MIA DOC Decision Makers & Experts 2018
