Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes, a New Amazon Original Documentary with Sam Mendes will Premiere Exclusively on Prime Video Worldwide Later this Year
Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes examines the highs and lows of the England cricket captain following a challenging period in his personal and professional life
Featuring Sam Mendes, Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes will launch exclusively on Prime Video worldwide later this year
You can watch the trailer here
Prime Video today announced that an UK Original documentary on the life and career of England cricket captain Ben Stokes will launch exclusively on Prime Video later this year. The announcement was made at the Prime Video Presents Showcase in London, where Stokes spoke to Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes (1917) via a pre-recorded interview to explain his rationale for making the documentary and pulling back the curtain on his life story.
Produced by Whisper, Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes has been created with Sam Mendes, who features on-screen to discuss the highs and lows of the cricket icon’s record-breaking career across a series of interviews. The documentary tells the story of Ben’s journey, examining his world cup triumph and heroics at the Headingley crease as well as the lows which saw him take time away from the game and came at a huge personal cost.
The film’s crew captured Ben’s most personal and challenging moments, including the final visit to see his terminally ill father and his struggles with mental health. Ben explores this journey on-screen with cricket fanatic Mendes, who also executive produces the film. Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes features intimate interviews with Ben’s late father, his mother, wife and children along with friends, family and former teammates and opponents including: Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Neil Fairbrother and the late Shane Warne.
Revealed at Prime Video Presents, Stokes said, “One thing I want to try and do with this is to get a side across to people that is quite tough to do in the image that we give across on TV. Certain aspects in the media you have to do in a certain way, to come across in a certain way, to please a certain amount of people whereas for this I don’t feel like I’m having to do that.
“I still think it’s crazy sat here that there’s a documentary being done about me. And then on top of that having Sam come and do the interviews. The whole thing is a crazy experience still for me to think about.”
Sam Mendes commented, “When they asked me to be involved in this excellent documentary, it took me about ten seconds to say yes. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding Ben Stokes, and a lot of questions I wanted to ask. To my amazement, he answered them all.
“I was always a fan of Ben as a cricketer - how can you not be, if you are a lover of sport at the highest level - but now my admiration extends well beyond the boundaries of cricket.”
Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes is directed by Whisper’s Chris Grubb and Luke Mellows and executive produced by Sam Mendes, Mark Cole and Sunil Patel.
