The Beautiful Game
To kick things off for this year’s FIFA World Cup we’re screening a short season of films on Sundays throughout June, celebrating the beautiful game and those who follow it.
We’re starting with those in the stands, with new documentary Ultras on Sun 6 June from female Swedish filmmaker (and ultra herself) Ragnhild Ekner.
Then a different take on spectatorship, we’ve also programmed a special 20-year anniversary screening of Douglas Gordon’s impressionistic experimental documentary Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait.
Copa 71 also highlights the ways women have historically been excluded from the game, shining a light on the suppressed history of the 1971 Women’s World Cup held in Mexico City.
So join us this June for a series of films that are as much about the audience, the supporters and the fans, as they are about the players and the action on the pitch.
Upcoming screenings in this season
Ultras
classified 15Subtitled screening
Ragnhild Ekner's film Ultras takes a look at the global phenomenon of footaball ultras – the beating heart of football and a constant source of debate.
Offside
classified PGSubtitled screening
During the 2006 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, numerous young women are caught and rounded up for dressing as men so they could gain access to the game. Guarded by several soldiers in a holding pen, the women attempt to keep updated on the score.
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
classified PGSubtitled screening
Halfway between a sports documentary and an conceptual art installation, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait consists in a full-length football game (Real Madrid vs. Villareal, April 23, 2005) entirely filmed from the perspective of soccer superstar Zinedine Zidane.
Copa 71
classified PG The Beautiful Game
Erased from the sporting history books, Copa 71 is the incredible story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup.