On 7 December, CANTONA: FLOWER OF EVIL arrives in cinemas across the UK and Ireland, followed by an exclusive interview broadcast live from Manchester with Eric Cantona. An Encore screening will follow on 12 December.

The most gifted footballer of his generation was finished. Retired in disgrace at 25, he appeared destined for permanent exile from the sport he loved.

Incapable of blind obedience, Eric Cantona was a libertine who bridled against conformity whenever he felt its grip tighten. The French branded him unmanageable. But the fire that burned in Eric became the spark to ignite a dynasty at Manchester United.

At turns thoughtful and explosive, Cantona reveals how legendary manager Alex Ferguson channelled the brilliance of this most captivating and unpredictable of athletes. A tale of friendship and fatherhood, Cantona and Ferguson’s testimonies reveal how a man misread as hostile and unknowable was finally understood, loved, and forgiven, by the strictest disciplinarian in football.

The film is directed and produced by David Tryhorn & Ben Nicholas (Pelé, El Caso Figo, Untold: Vinnie Jones); written and produced by Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon; Listen to Me Marlon); and complemented by a pulsating original electronic score by dance music pioneer Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.