Defoe

UK 12A Certificate
In cinemas
February 29, 2024
Director
Runtime
1 Hour 31 Minutes
Language
English
From Kaleidoscope Film Distribution
infrequent strong language, moderate sex references

Jermain Defoe is a natural born goal scorer. A player of supreme instinct and God given intuition, he relentlessly found the back of the net throughout his illustrious career. Even today as a Youth Team coach working at his beloved Tottenham Hotspur, his boyish enthusiasm for scoring remains unchanged, even if it is against protegees half his age. Ask him why he still wants to continue in the game as a coach after retiring as a professional player and his answer is instant; “I just love it”. His inspirational connection to football and enduring love for the game is deep and intrinsic. But his glory and status on the pitch, hides a story of great tragedy off the pitch.

In this powerful documentary, Jermain Defoe lifts the lid on both his incredible professional career, but also the scandalous and shocking personal events that shaped him as a player and as a man. At the very peak of his career, he experienced the murder of his half-brother in 2009, the death of his father on the eve of the Euro’s in 2012 and then the sudden death of his 20 year old cousin just a few months later. But rather than stop, Jermain pushed away the grief and found refuge in football instead. Pouring his heart and soul onto the pitch, he tried to escape from the tragedy that dogged him. But eventually, a chance encounter with a 6 year old boy battling a rare childhood cancer forced Jermain to reconcile himself to his past, confront his true feelings about life and death, and find a renewed sense of purpose in life. In many ways, his relationship with Bradley Lowery is the moment that has come to define him as a player and man, and is perhaps his greatest achievement in the game.

Last updated
January 25, 2024

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