Two new documentaries about 2019 Nordic skiing doping scandal set for release this October
Two different documentaries about former Estonian national skiing coach Mati Alaver and the doping scandal that rocked the sport after the 2019 Nordic World Ski Championships are set to be screened in Estonia this October.
The first documentary to reach viewers will be "Kindral" ("The General") – a nickname given to Mati Alaver from within the international doping fraternity.
Director Mihkel Ulk said that watching the film should make viewers feel disgusted by the web of lies.
"It was important that the story be told in as straightforward a manner as possible," Ulk said on Wednesday. "There are no numbers, hemoglobin levels, or complicated chemical names; the goal was simply to explain the story to people in a simple and emotional way."
"The film focuses on journalists who have worked hard to even get us talking about this topic at all," Ulk continued.
"The goal of coaches and doping offenders is to keep this out of the public eye. They have tried to hide it. Since Estonia lacks the legislation and institutions that could expose these sins in the way that happened in Austria, for example, it is the media that has to do this work."
"This film was needed because Estonians have always wanted to believe that we have special athletes," said Ulk.
"One person watched the film and when we asked how they liked it, they said it was 'depressing.' I think that's a very good assessment; this film is supposed to be depressing. We've laid out the lies, so people can watch them and form their own opinions. We're not just talking about Mati Alaver, but also Karel Tammjärv. It must be acknowledged that he is one of the few who has spoken openly about this, but the fact is that he also lied in interviews after the Seefeld scandal," Ulk added.
On Wednesday, Estonian media outlet Eesti Ekspress published a story outlining how a month before the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria, an attempt was made to cover up the positive A blood sample provided by Aleksei Poltoranin, who was coached by Andrus Veerpalu at the time.
"We have known about this news for half a year and kept it quiet so that we could talk about it just before the film was released. And as per usual, the people involved are keeping quiet," Ulk added.
According to the director, there is no hope Alaver or Veerpalu will communicate with the media about the subject of their own accord.
"That won't happen anytime soon, if ever. Alaver and Veerpalu have decided to remain silent. The saddest thing is that it would be exciting to read, hear and see, but since Alaver, at least, is a pathological liar, what could we possibly believe?"
On October 22, ETV will premiere another documentary on the same subject. The two-parter "Mati Alaver – From Light to Shadow" will be shown on ERR's investigative show "Pealtnägija"
"Kindral" will be screened at Tallinn's Artis Cinema on October 17 before general release at Apollo cinemas across Estonia from October 31.
More details about the scandal can be found here.
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Editor: Michael Cole, Anders Nõmm
