After the viral success of Mad Dog – from Chaos to Comeback in 2015, producer Martin Sandin has revealed a re-cut version of the Reza Madadi film will make its way to Swedish cinemas.
The Madadi centric documentary was created by film makers, Mauri R. Chifflet, Sandin and Christian Albinsson.
The documentary will premier on October 7; a day before Madadi faces Brit Marc Diakiese at UFC 204 and will follow the acts of the first movie, leading into “Mad Dog’s” fight with Yan Cabral at UFC Rotterdam.
“The documentary about Reza Madadi has been officially picked by Swedish Film Institut to run at national cinemas,” explained the producer, Sandin. “It will premier on the 7th of October in five different cities. It feel really exciting of course. We’ve made a new version of the film for the occasion.
“The first cut had a great reaction, the numbers spoke for themselves, the short version was the most viewed sport documentary ever at Aftonbladet.se.”
The film released on February 4, 2015 was a hard-hitting and raw look into the life of Madadi, fixating on the idea of second chances after his 2013 arrest for robbery.
We won’t go into too much detail of the entire plot, but if you want to know more, you can read our original review of ‘Mad Dog’.
The documentary itself was a fascinating, yet complex take on the life of Madadi and his struggles to gain acceptance on his comeback trail.
Sandin confirmed the re-cut would include an extra 20 minutes of footage and a different ending following Madadi’s painful loss in Norman Parke in Ireland.
“We lost contact with Reza after the loss in Dublin and wanted to pick up where we had left him. We wanted to talk more about the feelings after the fight that was meant to change his life.
“The fight was so crucial for him in his comeback and we needed to know how he would recover and how he would move on with his life.”
When asked if he thought Reza’s loss to Parke at the 3Arena, Dublin hurt the narrative of the film, Sandin responded assertively: “No, we where satisfied with the ending.
“The fighting in the film has slowly become a true metaphor of life struggles. We all know that life is not that simple; sometimes our dreams and plans do not turn out the way we want.
“He loves what he does and he believes in himself, which inspired us to keep shooting. Life is a gamble and so is film making.”
The Iranian-Swedish mixed martial artist is currently preparing for his return to the Octagon, on October 8 in Manchester, England.
However, with his documentary set to make big headlines in his adopted home country, Reza offered some words of wisdom and discussed being a cautionary tale for those who make the wrong decisions.
“I’m incredibly honoured to be [a] part of it. The movie is about my way back to life, about my way back to the octagon,” opened a reflective Madadi. “There were times when I wanted to give up. When I felt what’s the point? But I got threw it, I felt I had to come out on the other side stronger then ever to prove to myself and my family and friends that I deserve a second chance.
“Hopefully this film can inspire some people to keep away from trouble and some to never stop fighting for their dreams. Fame is not the issue. I hope my story can make positive changes to at least one person’s life.”
The 38-year-old added: “I can never take back what happened. I will regret it for the rest of my life. But what I can do I focus on the things that really matters in life.
“Things I didn’t see the same way 3,5 years ago. I don’t know how you or the viewers will see or react to the film, but what you see is me all the way threw good or bad.”
For more information about the upcoming release of Mad Dog – From Chaos to Comeback, visit the official website.
