BallinEurope has released its first ever feature length documentary, the first of three that will be released this season.
Enemies tells the story of the rivalry between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. Filmed in Athens in the run-up to the Euroleague clash between the sides in November at OAKA, Enemies features contributions from Aris Barkas (Eurohoops), Yannis Psarakis (veteran basketball journalist), and Mathias Lessort (Panathinaikos).
The documentary, by Dublin-based journalist Emmet Ryan, is the first feature length documentary produced by BallinEurope. It has been released ahead of the clash of the two rivals in the SEF in Euroleague on Friday.
Enemies is available to watch now on BallinEurope’s YouTube channel.
A big step
“The goal this season for BallinEurope has been to expand the way we tell basketball stories. The remit for the site is to, at least try, cover basketball from the grass roots through to the highest levels,” said Emmet Ryan of BallinEurope.
“Enemies naturally focuses more on the higher level of the sport. The goal of this documentary was to produce something that would be relevant to both hardcore fans of the Greens and the Reds as well as those who are relatively new to the rivalry. I have no idea if that worked but it was worth a go.”
Future plans
The two other documentaries by BallinEurope are currently in production, with details around their content and release dates to be provided in due course.
“The other two are more focused on the grass roots elements of the sport. That being said, these stories will be told in a way that will appeal to more than just a niche audience. I mean, this is BallinEurope so they’ll still be pretty nerdy pieces,” said Ryan.
“Being based in Ireland means I have to take a different approach to telling basketball stories. It also leads to many people saying to me ‘You’re Irish and you like basketball’ or ‘There’s basketball in Ireland.’ I’m hoping that unique aspect helps not only more people enjoy the documentary but want to learn more about the basketball culture here.”
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