Ready for the kick-off

Ready for the kick-off

POOJA JAYAN

For all the football freaks out there this year’s IFFK brings  a luscious treat of football based films!!! The splendour of the game recreated on celluloid in the ‘Kicking and Screening’, is a newbie in the festival package. The films will be guaranteed nail-biters which would pull you to the edge of your seat. This package promises a breath of fresh air amid the films dealing with corruption, inhumanity, politics and other social problems. “Two Half Times in Hell” is the oldest film in the package whereas the other films are the offsprings of the  new millennium.

  ‘Two Half Times in Hell’(1962), inspired by a real life incident is a film remembered by football fans and films lovers across the world with a tinge of pain will surely make the festival worth watching. The film is directed by  Zoltan Fabri  where Nazi officers organize  a football match for Hitler’s birthday, in which Germans play against Hungarian prisoners of war. The Hungarian  team is shot dead after the match.

  ‘Two Escobars’ by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist sews together the story of Pablo Escobar (a drug king) and Andres Escobar (Colombian football player). In the 1994 World cup Andres Escobar’s fatal mistake on the field dashed the pride of an entire nation and cost him his life. The player was murdered by the Colombian Mafia for letting down his country.

‘Will’ directed by Ellen Perry is the  sentimental journey of an orphan child to see the 2005 Champions League final. ‘Soka Afrika’ by Suridh Hassan deals with the problem of the trafficking of young footballers from Africa to the European leagues through the story of two aspiring footballers who set out to find fame and fortune. 

  ‘Games of Their Lives’ by David Anspaugh showcases the  match between Italy and Korea in the 1950 World Cup. ‘Garuda di dadaku’ by Ifa Isfansyah tells a boy’s dream to become a soccer player whereas   David Marcques movie ‘Offside’ or En Fuera De Juego deals with an Argentine Doctor’s life and his love for football.

  The first Kicking and Screening festival was set up in New York in 2009 .The IFFK football series is kicking and screening’s first endeavour in Asia.