Since graduating from Boston College Law School, David Fialkow, BC ’85, has experienced major success in life as the cofounder of venture capital firm General Catalyst Partners, an investor in a slew of private companies, and a documentary filmmaker. Now, he can now add an Academy Award for making the film Icarus to his list of achievements.
Fialkow won an Oscar for the film on Sunday evening at the 90th Academy Awards, along with producers Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan, as well as filmmaker Jim Swartz.
Following Lance Armstrong’s confession to using performance-enhancing drugs in 2013, Fogel hypothesized that doping systems relied upon to monitor internationally ranked athletes could be manipulated, allowing those who used performance enhancing drugs to go through the tests undetected. Fogel then doped himself, went through the system, and ultimately uncovered that Russia was leading a state-sponsored doping program, which led to the country being banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Fialkow received his undergraduate degree from Colgate University. He told BC Law School Magazine that his investments in documentary films are driven by an interest in effecting social change.
“Over the last 10 years, my wife, Nina, and I have been fortunate to make documentary films focused on social justice—to tell stories that people need to know,” he said.
Producers Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan thanked Netflix, UTA, and fellow filmmakers Jim Swartz and David Fialkow. The two dedicated the award to the documentary’s subject, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a Russian scientist in charge of testing the entire Russian Olympic team.
“We hope Icarus is a wake-up call—yes, about Russia, but more than that, about the importance of telling the truth, now more than ever,” Fogel said at the Academy Awards.
Featured Image by Chris Pizzello / AP
