Broadcast Sport speaks to Ryder Cup head of production Tom Jackson about the competition’s new Una Famiglia film

Una Famiglia_Team Europe's Story

The Ryder Cup has been producing an official film for every tournament since 1997, but this year it has decided to add to that with Una Famiglia, a 90-minute film looking at the European team and its captain Luke Donald during their 2023 victory. 

Una Famiglia was first launched as a digital exclusive on the Ryder Cup YouTube channel on 3 December, with the European Tour’s head of production for the Ryder Cup, Tom Jackson, telling Broadcast Sport that, “digital distribution is becoming on a level par with broadcast.”

It will then air on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Golf at 9:30pm on 5 December, as well as being available on Sky’s platforms from the same date. Jackson added, “The fact that they are using this as an opportunity to get a golf documentary on Main Event is really great for us.”

Ryder Cup Productions produced the film in collaboration with IMG, and in partnership with Rolex.

Bringing in new fans, and reminding existing fans of why they follow the competition, ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup is one of the aims of the film, and Jackson was keen to keep things simple with this in mind, “It’s really important not to get bogged down in those details and make it much more about the emotions of playing in the Ryder Cup and what that means, rather than the technicalities of the golf itself.”

Rory McIlroy Ryder Cup Una Famiglia

The film features interviews with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood, as well as extensive access to the captain, Luke Donald.

Donald was one of the driving forces behind the film, with Jackson noting that, “it was a passion project for him. He is a historian of the Ryder Cup and it means so much to him.”

Hit basketball docuseries The Last Dance was seen as the, “benchmark,” for the film, with Donald and the main feature of that series, Michael Jordan, neighbours in Florida and, “very close,” according to Jackson. He added, “I think Luke was inspired by watching The Last Dance and inspired to think about his legacy as Ryder Cup captain.”

This commitment was important as the production was filming with Donald, and his wife, Diane, and kids, both at their house and at various other locations, over multiple days.

Luke Donald Ryder Cup Una Famiglia

Jackson believes the home environment is key to get the most from his interviewees, with at least hours rather than minutes spent with all of them. Rahm and Jose Maria Olazabal both having full days. He said, “Where we could, we wanted to go to the players and film with them in a home environment. John Rahm, we went out to his home in Arizona. Luke [Donald], Shane [Lowry] down in Florida, and Ludwig [Noa Åberg] in Europe, Tommy [Fleetwood] out in Dubai. Jose Maria [Olazabal], who plays a key role in the film, we filmed his local golf club in Spain, where he’s been a member for the last 40 years.”

Looking forward, Jackson is keen to link back to the touchpoints raised in the final ten minutes of the film, which look ahead to the challenge faced by the European team in New York, USA, next year.

He looked ahead, “Now that we’ve established Una Famiglia part one, it gives us something to work towards for [2025 host course] Bethpage. The consistency with Luke as a captain, his familiarity with having cameras around and therefore the level of access we can hope to have moving forwards, is really important for the evolution and progression of what we can deliver from a content perspective.”

You can watch the full Una Famiglia film below.