# rakontur

> Miami-based nonfiction media studio telling stories about crime, corruption, power, politics, sports, and culture. Founded by Billy Corben, Alfred Spellman, and David Cypkin.

## Pages

- [Home](https://rakontur.com/): rakontur timeline.
- [Films](https://rakontur.com/films): Complete rakontur documentary archive, 2001–present.
- [About](https://rakontur.com/about): Studio overview and capabilities.
- [Other Projects](https://rakontur.com/other-projects): Plays, shorts, and editorial work beyond the documentary archive.

## Films

- [Men of War (2025)](https://rakontur.com/films/men-of-war): Blending real-world drama with the complexity of an espionage thriller, 'Men of War' unveils the chaotic events surrounding a failed coup against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
- [Canceled: The Paula Deen Story (2025)](https://rakontur.com/films/canceled): An intimate reckoning with the celebrity chef at the center of one of the defining cancellations of the social-media age.
- [From Russia With Lev (2024)](https://rakontur.com/films/from-russia-with-lev): A Ukrainian immigrant's wild journey from mob associate to political scandal mastermind unfolds in this unbelievable true story.
- [God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty (2022)](https://rakontur.com/films/god-forbid): A Miami pool boy becomes embroiled in a scandal involving America's most powerful evangelical couple, Jerry and Becki Falwell Jr.
- [Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (2021)](https://rakontur.com/films/cocaine-cowboys-the-kings-of-miami): Two childhood best friends built the biggest cocaine empire Miami had ever seen
- [537 Votes (2020)](https://rakontur.com/films/537-votes): When a Cuban boy's rescue at sea ignites a bitter political revolt in Miami, America is plunged into recount chaos that ends with the presidency decided by just 537 votes.
- [Magic City Hustle (2019)](https://rakontur.com/films/magic-city-hustle): When their football dreams die, a group of former Miami Hurricanes get one last shot at going pro — in the nearly extinct world of jai alai.
- [Screwball (2018)](https://rakontur.com/films/screwball): A rogue Miami anti-aging clinic, a desperate MLB superstar, and a cast of hustlers, addicts, and con men collide in the wildly entertaining true story behind the steroid scandal that nearly brought do
- [Dawg Fight (2015)](https://rakontur.com/films/dawg-fight): A larger-than-life street fighter transforms his mother's backyard into an underground arena where desperate men battle bare-knuckled for survival, respect, and a shot at escape.
- [Cocaine Cowboys: Reloaded (2014)](https://rakontur.com/films/cocaine-cowboys-reloaded): The documentary that defined Miami's cocaine era — now reloaded with explosive new footage and firsthand accounts
- [The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop (2014)](https://rakontur.com/films/the-tanning-of-america): How hip-hop transformed America from the streets of the Bronx to the White House.
- [The U Part 2 (2014)](https://rakontur.com/films/the-u-part-2): From NCAA ruin to national dominance, The U Part 2 chronicles the rise, fall, and chaos behind Miami’s 2001 Hurricanes, a team many consider the best in college football history.
- [Broke (2012)](https://rakontur.com/films/broke): A stunning exploration of the harsh financial realities faced by professional athletes after their careers end.
- [Square Grouper: The Godfathers of Ganja (2011)](https://rakontur.com/films/square-grouper): Before the cartels, the machine guns, and the headlines, marijuana smugglers moved tons of weed through the swamps and marinas of South Florida building a hazy outlaw kingdom stretching from the Everg
- [Limelight (2011)](https://rakontur.com/films/limelight): The rise and fall of Peter Gatien, the legendary king of New York City's club scene.
- [The U (2009)](https://rakontur.com/films/the-u): In a city consumed by racial tension and cultural upheaval, a brash new generation of Miami Hurricanes transformed college football forever with swagger, attitude, and four national championships.
- [Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' With The Godmother (2008)](https://rakontur.com/films/cocaine-cowboys-2): In 1991, a small-time drug dealer becomes the right-hand man and lover of the notorious Cocaine Godmother Griselda Blanco, living a life of luxury and danger.
- [Cocaine Cowboys (2006)](https://rakontur.com/films/cocaine-cowboys): An explosive look at the cocaine wars that transformed Miami from God's Waiting Room to America's Riviera.
- [Raw Deal: A Question of Consent (2001)](https://rakontur.com/films/raw-deal): When a University of Florida fraternity party erupts into a rape scandal captured on videotape, a shocking investigation exposes the volatile collision of sex, power, media, and consent in modern Amer

## Other Projects

- [The Real Griselda (2024)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/the-real-griselda)
- [Confessions of a Cocaine Cowboy (2019)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/confessions-of-a-cocaine-cowboy)
- [Miami Beach 100 (2015)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/miami-beach-100)
- [Collision Course: The Murder of Don Aronow (2013)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/collision-course)
- [The Raconteurs (2011)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/the-raconteurs)
- [Bella Rose (2008)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/bella-rose)
- [rakontur 10th Anniversary Retrospective (2012)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/rakontur-10th-anniversary)
- [World Red Eye Cultural Exchanges: Nightlife (2015)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/world-red-eye-nightlife)
- [World Red Eye Cultural Exchanges: Real Estate (2016)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/world-red-eye-real-estate)
- [Lincoln Road Hustle (2024)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/lincoln-road-hustle)
- [Meta Quest x NBA: Fans at the Edge of the Earth (2024)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/meta-quest-nba-fans-at-the-edge-of-the-earth)
- [For The Defense with David Oscar Markus (2020)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/for-the-defense)
- [Clubland (2008)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/clubland)
- [F.I.L.T.H.E.E.
FT. ICE-T & GRANDMASTER CAZ
"AY, AY, AYA" (2007)](https://rakontur.com/other-projects/filthee)

## Posts