Crowds is a feature documentary that records popular events of Uruguay where thousands of people gather spontaneously, called by faith, passion, celebration and memory. What happens when we set aside our individuality to act collectively? This documentary observes the passions that draw thousands of people close in order to join in a choral character. It discovers the crowd while it transgresses and experiences catharsis, while it seeks miracles and hopes; in continuous movement it splits and rejoins... until they dissipate and individuals re-emerge in their own solitude.
Surrounded by gleaming aquamarine waters and fine white sand, Zanzibar looks like a tropical paradise. But life here is not easy. No one knows that better than Issa Simai, who spends his days, spear in hand, in the warm Indian Ocean trying to catch enough octopus or lobster to make a living. Issa is also a member of The Leopards, Zanzibar's most successful soccer team. This season, they have won their way to a playoff on the mainland, Tanzania, in Dar es Salaam. But before the Leopards even reach the field, they face a daunting obstacle: paying for the trip. Will the Leopards make enough to hire a boat to the mainland? And even more challenging, will they ace the playoff and return home to the cheers of their Zanzibar fans?
The crowd is the focus of this documentary, which presents historical scenes of the Brazilian Championship. Irreverent and poetic, the movie pays homage to the spectacle provided by football.
In the early 1980s, at the beginning of what would become a 12-year-long civil war, El Salvador's talented football team was one national institution upon which both the left and the right could agree. When the team pulled off a stunning 1-0 upset against Mexico and qualified to compete in the 1982 World Cup, it was a high point for the tiny country's national pride. Unfortunately, the team's Cinderella story devolved into a nightmarish farce.
Many migrants live in search of a mirror in which to recognize themselves; they are not from here, but they are not from there either. Los Williams / The Williams, a feature-length documentary, familiar and sporting, told in first-person by Iñaki and Nico Williams. Two brothers, footballers, Basques and "beltzas" or black, of Ghanaian descent, reveal their incredible tale across the two most crucial years of their lives. From their historic participation in the Qatar World Cup with two different selections, to the long-awaited victory of the Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey after 40 years, and Nico's triumph at the European Championship. Two international stars, face to face with their past and their future, through the conflicts that have marked their lives: racism, identity, frustration, ambition, and success.
Any given Sunday of 1974 in Spain, soccer games in several stadiums, the sarcastic voice of commentators, the inevitable presence of advertising. Goal! The victors and the defeated.
A sport like football is primarily a passionate celebration, but one that is so massive (economically, politically and socially) that it, of course, also brings many problems. Olallo Rubio's third documentary (and fourth film in total), Ilusión Nacional, is a take on how the world's most popular sport relates to Mexican society and politics.
Four neighborhoods. Four churches. Four colors. Blue. Red. White. Green. A square. A ball. Two goals. Fifty minutes, there are no rules. During the third week of June, every year since 1580, four teams of twenty-seven men fight for victory in the arena of Santa Croce. Florence, June, 2013. Calcio storico fiorentino. The origin of football.
Welcome to a hard driving video about the biggest winners of all, the athletes and teams who broken records in their sports.
In this feature-length sports documentary we follow the underdog club, Avacakdoes FC, through their second season of games following an embarrassing first showing. Can they redeem themselves or will they go another winless season in shame?
Documentary that follows events after the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, while looking back on the previous fifteen years, tracing his rise to power. Personal testimony alternates with analysis of a disintegrating society.
Plagued with poverty and violence, Jamaica tries to inspire its populace by qualifying their national team, the 'Reggae Boyz', for the World Cup. When their efforts start to fall short, Winnie Schäfer, a colorful German coach, teams up with reggae musicians to unite Jamaica beyond the soccer pitch.
An inspirational story about the power of hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, and an object lesson in what it really means to be a winner in life.
Pablo has lost his house and is now living in his car. In this short film he tells us about how he relates to the world cup 2010.
How do seven young people, former street children from Romania, get to see the Pacific Ocean? On 1 December 2008, a Romanian national team participates for the first time in the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. The film follows the team from the formation of the squad to the end of the championship. The young people are from Timisoara and Arad, runaway children who now live in abandoned houses or who have managed to get a job and live in rented accommodation after going through orphanages or prisons. After taking a beating from many teams, the young Romanians manage to beat the USA. They are happy. They are all thinking of never going "home" again. It's warm and nice here, the people are nice. "In case I stay, I kissed you all!" says one of them cautiously. But after taking pictures of themselves on the beach with the ocean behind them and beautiful girls by their side, the seven return to Romania and get on with their lives.
In this film, we follow footballer George Best over a 90-minute match against Coventry City, which took place on 12th September 1970. There is no soundtrack and no interview overlaid, just Best doing what he did best - playing football.
Frei:Gespielt - Mehmet Scholl - Über das Spiel hinaus
This utterly enjoyable and globe-spanning jaunt follows Canadian actor and comedian Jay Baruchel on an epic road trip through Canada, Ireland and Scotland with his new friend, well-known Irish soccer journalist Eoin O’Callaghan. It’s a story that stretches over 200 years of colorful history and that takes the duo eastward from Montreal to Westport, Ireland—where Jay’s ancestors set sail for Canada, like so many others—and finally Glasgow, where Jay will fulfill a lifelong dream: to watch a match at Celtic Park, one of the wildest and most hallowed grounds in world football.
Film director Branko Belan follows the journey of fishermen as they set out to catch tuna around the Velebit Channel.
During the Battle of Sutjeska, partisan troops must endure 24 hours of big and heavy attacks on German units Ljubino grave, to the main Partisan units, with the wounded and the Supreme Headquarters, pulled out the ring that is tightened around them.