Concrete Football

"What could be more unsettling than a man close to death whose profound arrogance drives him relentlessly to hang onto both his power and his writing, to the bitter end?" In the twilight of his second seven-year term, François Mitterrand was alone. Ravaged by illness and abandoned by a large majority of the Socialist Party, who would not forgive him for the disastrous outcome of the March 1993 elections, the Head of State was preparing to tackle a second round of cohabitation with the right wing. However a series of unexpected tragedies and revelations would arise, casting a shadow over the end of his reign…

In a series of long interviews, 12 prime ministers talk about their experience in the upper echelons of power. The function of prime minister, torn between the president and the parliament, appointed without necessarily being elected but responsible for everything, is at the center of debate. With the exception of Jacques Chirac (1974-1976 and 1986-1988), deliberately left out because of his image as French President, those who governed France for the past 35 years agreed to discuss the exercise of power, as seen through archive footage, but also how they experienced it personally. Filmed in the same studio and sitting in the same chair, 12 French prime ministers talk freely about their time in office, from their appointment until their resignation.

In 2002, serial killer Patrice Alègre was sentenced to life imprisonment for five murders. Gendarme Roussel, the main investigator of this case, believes that he will make him confess to other unsolved crimes in Toulouse. Two ex-prostitutes give a series of names of presumed accomplices of the killer, among them Dominique Baudis, then president of the CSA. He decides to face the case alone. Around him, it is silence: not an official support of his political family. Almost twenty years later, we return to the Baudis affair to try to understand it, with the testimonies of Pierre and Benjamin Baudis, his sons, François Hollande, Camille Pascal and the main protagonists.

Through the stories of a Hispanic girls soccer team at Kelly High School in Chicago, IN THE GAME illustrates the enormous challenges facing inner-city girls in their quest for higher education and, most importantly, success in life.

In 1975 Dynamo Kiev became the first Soviet team to win a major European trophy. The team’s rapid rise was remarkable and attributed to one man: Valeri Vasilievich Lobanovskyi. His technique as a manager is now the stuff of folklore - not least for his imposing a fitness regime so brutal that his players looked upon the matches themselves as relaxing.

The Perechú family is afraid that the ancestral costume of their ancestors will disappear, but they see soccer as an opportunity to keep their culture and legacy alive.

BALL is an investigative and humorous film about the supporting roles of football. What happens when you turn the camera beyond the pitch? We get caught up in rituals among judges and linemen, follow the zealous accuracy of the material and that of the photographers looking for the perfect image. We study the audience up close, big and small emotions build a mood at least as exciting as what happens on the pitch. On site in a football arena, we get to follow a match from different points of view but we never see the ball. A consideration of everything that happens around at a football game.

After failing to make it into a major soccer tournament for 50 years, the Israeli National team finally gets into the Euro 2020 Qualifying Tournament. For the first time ever, nearly half the players, including the captain, are Muslim. This documentary explores the challenges that the Muslim players face from media critics and fans as well as how the team perseveres because of their passion for the game. Israeli director Shuki Guzik notes, “If an Arab child sees a Muslim score a goal for the Israeli team made of Arab and Israeli players, I see only good can come out of this.”

Rivalidades: Corinthians X Palmeiras

"Jeunesse Rouge" is a documentary exploring young French Communist revolutionaries fighting for a just and equal society. The film follows their organizing and mobilizing, while delving into the history of the Communist movement in France. Archival footage and interviews with activists show their passionate commitment, from protests and strikes to political education. It highlights the power of youth activism and their potential to bring about change in the face of systemic inequality.

"Estadio Novo is about Portugal, its football and its fans. As hordes of supporters descend on the ten brand new stadiums for Euro 2004, this lively and informative documentary takes a look at their impact. Examining the role of football in Portugal before and the revolution of 1974 it asks... what's really going on?"

Fortuna!

With heart and determination, Antoine Griezmann overcame his small stature to become one of the world's top soccer players and a World Cup champion.

Sven gives us a unique insight into the success story that is Svennis' career, with both a focus on his journey to the top of football Europe and the incurable cancer diagnosis that came to the public's attention in early 2024.

39-45 : Les policiers dans la résistance

One hundred years of Portuguese Football, from the first public experiments in 1888, in Cascais, the evolution in the twenties, the National Stadium, the glory of the sixties, the 25th of April until 1984.

Former footballer Paul Merson sets out to understand why his life has been so blighted by gambling and asks if enough is being done to prevent others following in his footsteps.

A tribute to the cartoonist and filmmaker Chaval, aka Yvan Francis Le Louarn.

The Bapst Brothers: Romain, Maurice and Jacques – whom we will also meet in The Gruyere Chronicle (produced in 1990) – are peasants and carriers and work with their father. In autumn and winter, they bid for the community’s wood, cut down the pine trees and bring down the logs through the snowy woods by horse-drawn sleigh.

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