Studio 99 makes Ronnie O’Sullivan feature doc

Studio 99 has released a trailer for its upcoming Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything feature-length documentary.

The film is set to premiere next month in select cinemas nationwide, and will also be streaming on Prime Video.

It will debut in a one-night-live premiere screening on Tuesday 21 November, featuring a Q&A with Ronnie, executive producer David Beckham and a “special guest” host that will be streamed live to select cinemas nationwide.

The documentary will be available on Prime Video in the UK & Ireland from Thursday 23 November and will open in select cinemas on Friday 24 November.

In 2021, O’Sullivan made the decision to allow total access to his life for the first time, at a moment when he was beginning to consider a world beyond snooker, opening the doors to his personal life for the first time. Facing the end of a successful but turbulent career, the snooker legend found himself on the verge of a career-defining tournament to win the snooker World Championship for a record seventh time.

This new feature documentary, from filmmaker Sam Blair (Make Us Dream, Keep Quiet, Maradonna ‘86), explores how one of the most accomplished British sporting stars is able to function at the highest level despite a constant battle with his inner demons.

It illuminates his past through never-before-seen archive family footage and charts his rise to fame from his early teens and the mental challenges he has overcome in the pursuit of perfection.

The film features revealing interviews with Ronnie O’Sullivan and some of his closest family, friends and competitors – including Damien Hirst, The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood, snooker legends Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry.

O’Sullivan said: “My highs and lows have been well-documented by the media but I felt like now was the right time to do something more definitive - something that I can look back and reflect on as I contemplate retirement. Going into my seventh World Championship I wasn’t sure I had it in me but allowing the cameras in ended up driving me on in many ways and gave me a different perspective.”

Director Sam Blair added: “Throughout the making of this film, Ronnie allowed his charisma, complexities and contradictions appear naturally—he was profoundly himself, raw and unfiltered, and that made the often awkward and complicated situation of making a film simple for me. My job, as I explained to Ronnie, was to do justice to his story and his experience, and to do that we had to find ways for the audience to grasp the full bandwidth of his experience—from rapture to meltdown. I see the film as a collaboration with Ronnie to achieve that aim, and I think its power is that we get to see that full range unfold in the present tense. It is a film about a great artist at work, but also about a person struggling with themselves and the factors in their life that are out of their control.”

Nicola Howson for Studio 99 said: “Ronnie is a complex genius who defied convention and captured the hearts and admiration of snooker fans over many years. His story is quite simply remarkable and will have deep resonance with audiences. We’re grateful to Ronnie and Sam for creating this unflinchingly honest and raw account of what it takes to be a champion.”

The film is directed by Sam Blair, edited by Sam Blair and Paul Monaghan. Cinematography is by Edward Edwards (Grenfell; The Untold Story), and there’s an original score by BAFTA-nominated Roger Goula (All That Breathes, Make Us Dream).

It is produced by James Davidson for Studio 99 (Beckham, Save Our Squad), and executive produced by Nicola Howson, David Gardner, Ross Connolly and David Beckham. Distribution is by MetFilms.