“The Madmen Coach” is an Italian-Senegalese documentary directed by Carlo Liberatore, with a running time of 57 minutes, completed in 2025. Filmed between Dakar andItaly, the film tells a story of sport, inclusion and redemption through the universal language of football.
At the centre of the narrative is Malick Biteye, a coach who in Dakar, Senegal, trains a football team made up of young people with mental health conditions. In a context marked by poverty and social marginalisation, football becomes for these young people a means of expression, cohesion and hope. The film follows their everyday lives—through training, moments of communal life and personal challenges—up to the journey to Italy, where the team fulfils the dream of playing an international match.
Through sport, the documentary explores themes such as the fight against the stigma associated with mental illness, the strength of the group and the therapeutic and social value of sporting activity. The work highlights how football can become a tool for integration and dignity, giving voice and visibility back to those who are often excluded.
Alongside Biteye, the film features Moussa Niang, Alouise Mbagnick N’Diaye, Cheikh Assane Séné, Papa Moussa Fall, Ibrahima Sagna and Idrissa Mbengue, who appear as themselves, as athletes and protagonists of the project. Cinematography is by Gabriele Bucari and Liberatore himself, while editing is by Luigi Caggiano and the original music by Patrizio Maria D’Artista.
“The Madmen Coach” is produced by Valerio Di Tommaso and Carlo Liberatore, is neither a student project nor the director's first film. The documentary is an example of social cinema that uses sport as a means of awareness and change.
Film Details
Title: The Madmen Coach
Original title: The Madmen Coach
Director: Carlo Liberatore
Production: Valerio Di Tommaso, Carlo Liberatore
Country: Italy, Senegal
Language: French, Italian, Wolof
Running time: 57 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Sport featured: Football
Protagonist(s): Malick Biteye, Moussa Niang, Alouise Mbagnick N’Diaye, Cheikh Assane Séné, Papa Moussa Fall, Ibrahima Sagna, Idrissa Mbengue
Completion date: 7 April 2025
Premiere: [Not specified]
Distributor: [Not specified]
Shooting format: 2.39:1, colour
Director's first film: No
Student project: No