''Head Games'' is a 2012

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

that examines the effects of repeated

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s and subconcussive blows, particularly those associated with sports. It focuses on

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

and hockey, but also covers

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, soccer, lacrosse, and professional wrestling. It covers findings that chronic

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...

is occurring in female sports. Also covered is physiological evidence of brain injury in adolescent athletes. ''Head Games'' is directed by Steve James, director of the highly acclaimed documentary, ''

Hoop Dreams ''Hoop Dreams'' is a 1994 American documentary film directed by Steve James, and produced by Frederick Marx, James, and Peter Gilbert, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students, William Gates ...

''. It is a film followup to

Christopher Nowinski Christopher John Nowinski (born September 24, 1978) is an American neuroscientist, author and retired professional wrestler. After extensively researching concussions in American football, Nowinski co-founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation, w ...

's book, ''Head Games''. The film features interviews with Nowinski (founder of the Sports Legacy Institute), Dr. Robert Cantu (a professor of neurosurgery at

Boston University School of Medicine The Boston University School of Medicine (formally the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine) is the medical school of Boston University, a private university, private research university in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in ...

, Dr. Ann McKee, and Robert Stern, who are experts on

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...

). In addition to other medical experts, it also extensively interviews athletes, their families, and journalists.

Details

Title

''Head Games'' was inspired by the book ''Head Games'' written by former Ivy League football player and WWE wrestler Christopher Nowinski.

Cast

''Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis'' (2014) *Bob Costas *Brendan Shanahan *Robert Cantu, MD *Ann McKee, MD *Robert Stern, PhD *Hunt Batjer, MD *Gary Dorshimer, MD *Ruben Echemendia, PhD *Douglas Smith, MD *Steven Galetta, MD *Laura Balcer, MD, MSCE *Christina Master, MD *Dr. Willie Stewart *Dr. Barry O'Driscoll *Dr. James Robson *Greg "Diesel" Williams *Dr. Alan Pearce *David Dodick, MD *Dr. Huw Williams ''Head Games (2012)'' *Christopher Nowinski *Alan Schwarz *Keith Primeau *Cindy Parlow Cone *Bob Costas *Isaiah Kacyvenski *Bill Daly *Brendan Shanahan *Robert Cantu, MD *Ann McKee, MD *Robert Stern, PhD *Hunt Batjer, MD *Gary Dorshimer, MD *Ruben Echemendia, PhD *Douglas Smith, MD *Steven Galetta, MD *Laura Balcer, MD, MSCE *Christina Master, MD *Eric Laudano, M.H.S., A.T.C.

Critical and media reception

''Head Games'' was a critical success, winning Best Documentary at the 2012

Boston Film Festival Boston Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September. The Boston Film Festival premiered such notable films as '' The Last Kiss'' ...

and ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' Best Sports Movie of 2012. ''Head Games'' was also an official selection for both the 2012

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

and the 2012 Sprout Film Festival. The films was also noted in iTunes Best of 2012 and

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

Top Movies of 2012. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars noting that "the documentary by Steve James paints a devastating picture of the long-term consequences of head injuries among pro NFL players." Ebert also called ''Head Games'' one of the year's "best documentaries." The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' stated "''Head Games'' gains credibility and power from compassion for athletes and respect for their accomplishments. But it also tries to open the eyes of sports lovers to dangers that have too often been minimized and too seldom fully understood." The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' listed the film as one of the year's best films. In March 2014, UK Distributor

Dogwoof Dogwoof is a film-distribution company based in the United Kingdom. History Dogwoof Pictures Dogwoof was founded in 2003 by Andy Whittaker, and originally concentrated on foreign films, including such titles as ''Don't Move'', '' Fateless'', ...

announced that it would be a launching doc-centric digital distribution platform entitled IF365 to help filmmakers get their work on top digital platforms. IF365 will use Dogwoof’s relationship with platforms such as

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

to showcase feature documentaries including ''Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis''.

References

External links