Pavol Demitra Honored With Slovak Documentary

Slovakian filmmaker Daniel Dangl wanted to take a break from stand-up comedy films. He chose a sobering subject.

On September 7, 2011, the plane carrying nearly the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team crashed on take off on its way to Minsk to begin the KHL season. The tragic accident was given the Smithsonian Channel documentary treatment (which will only serve to infuriate you if you watch even just the clip on the website), but Dangl's documentary, Pavol Demitra: 38 looks to be a much more emotional journey.

It is divided into three parts: his youth, his playing career, and his family's life after the crash. His wife Maria visits the crash site for the first time with the film crew. From NHL.com:

"[Maria] refused to fly to Yaroslavl until we took her there for recording," Dangl said. "The trip was very, very emotional."

The film was recorded in five countries: Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Canada, the United States and Russia. Many hockey players including retired NHL stars Peter Stastny, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk, and Slovak players Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa, Miroslav Satan, Michal Handzus and Lubomir Visnovsky, share their memories.

Here is the preview:

The film premieres on September 7th, the three-year anniversary of the tragedy.