“Icarus” rips the lid off Russia’s systematic doping of its Olympic athletes with the invaluable aid of whistle-blower Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov. Exactly.Bryan Fogel: I’ve got to know him through this. And we needed to bring it forward before the Rio Olympics [in 2016]. HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 04: Producer Dan Cogan (L) and director Bryan Fogel, winners of the Best Documentary Feature award for 'Icarus,' pose in the press room … Icarus is a 2017 American documentary film by Bryan Fogel, which chronicles Fogel's exploration of the option of doping to win an amateur cycling race and happening upon a major international doping scandal when he asks for the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory. Fate allied Rodchenkov and Fogel which resulted in the Russian loudly and internationally blowing the whistle on the ambitiously, joyfully corrupt Russian sports doping program – at the Sochi Olympics and all sports.Bryan Fogel: Um yeah I mean it was an incredible honor and it was kind of surreal because they call you up one by one onto these risers. 1 "Icarus" (2017): Bryan Fogel's Oscar-winning documentary, to paraphrase George Costanza, works a bit like "discovering plutonium by accident." “According to them, they still never meddled in our elections…But I did find the humor in the idea that we should’ve been nominated under the fantasy category, when of course there isn’t one. “We were living a real-life thriller with life-and-death consequences that went all the way up to, and even including, today.”GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. Colorado’s Bryan Fogel Wins Oscar For ‘Icarus’ Documentary On Doping. Bryan Fogel is an Academy Award-winning film director, producer, author and playwright best known for directing and starring in the 2018 Oscar-winning documentary thriller ICARUS. You’re seeing stuff and thinking about it. And seeking to defame other people, etc. And when he fled the country he had that visa in place and he got out so quickly that I don’t think they had the chance to put that control in the system. .“We hope ‘Icarus’ is a wake-up call — yes about Russia, but more about the importance of telling the truth, now more than ever,” Fogel said.Fogel, the comic brains behind the play and film “Jewtopia,” is the son of David and Linda Fogel of Denver.“Icarus” is Fogel’s first documentary — but the golden statuette indicates it won’t be his last.Rodchenkov, who left his wife and family behind, is now in the witness protection program.The IJN is a member of the American Jewish Press Association, Colorado Press Association and National Newspaper Association. Entertainment Weekly. – The Denver Post Bryan Fogel's phone blew up early the morning of Jan. 23. The Russian came in from the cold briefly to appear – disguised – on 60 Minutes, and then he disappeared again into American protective custody.Editor in Chief Cece Woods considers herself the “accidental activist”.…Bryan Fogel: Exactly. The Federal Government got involved in the criminal investigation and the only way they were able to catch him is because his teammates – who did the same thing as he did – ratted him out in exchange for their own immunity.Bryan Fogel: Some people you probably wouldn’t know of: Visual effects artists who were nominated and sound guys who were nominated. Bryan Fogel is an Academy-Award winning director known for Icarus, which garnered the 2018 Oscar for best documentary feature. In the sense that…Bryan Fogel: I’m not able to speak to Grigory anymore. The story was incredibly complicated but crafting the narrative of it became an obsession for me as to how to tell this story, not in a flat-out journalistic point of view but to bring in a lot of artistry into telling that story which hopefully leads to the emotional impact of it.Bryan Fogel: At the Beverly Hilton. I had about 15 people.And this to me was going to be what the drugs do to you but the bigger perspective of whether or not the global anti-doping system in sport works. If you couldn’t catch the most tested athlete on planet earth, after 500 tests, to this day he’s never clean… I mean he’s never tested positive to this day. So I was supported by amazing people through this process.Bryan Fogel: Yeah, it’s very serious.Rodchenkov is now in protective custody, in America, hiding from Vlad the Poisoner and his henchmen. Congratulations to Bryan Fogel for the Oscar nomination—and for playing a key, if unanticipated, role in exposing a major international doping scandal.