Category: Documentary
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‘Nossa Chape’ (2018) a view inside the club
Nossa Chape is the Zimbalist Brothers’ film on the greatest sports tragedy of the 21st Century. The documentary covers the crash of the charter flight that carried the Brazilian Chapecoense team to Medellin, Colombia, and the struggle of the club and the survivors to rebuild. The film arrived on the Fox Sports channel in time…
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‘Soka Afrika’ (2011): well-meaning but misinformed
The problem of human trafficking through football, also known as football trafficking, has been covered in the media for almost 10 years. In Soka Afrika, Suridh Hassan puts together a sensitive portrayal of 2 teenage footballers trying to make a career in Europe in 2009. However, I do not recommend this documentary because it puts…
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Brave souls unite behind football in ‘Istanbul United’ (2014)
No words can adequately describe the courage and madness in fighting a government’s violence against its people. To understand this, you must watch it unfold. To see how football fans influenced the 2013 Gezi protest in Turkey, watch a few videos as the protests began. And then watch Istanbul United. And then watch Ayaktakimi.
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So many ways to cheat in ‘Dirty Games’ (2016)
As sports fans, we should all thank Director Benjamin Best for his investigative journalism. We like to think that the games on which we spend so much time, money, and emotion, are equally true to us, the fans and supporters.
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A refugee soccer camp in ‘Beirut Parc’ (2016)
Refugees comprise 20% of the population of Lebanon. If the USA had a similar percentage, the entire populations of New York and California would be refugees. To counter the effects of such chaos on Lebanon, international organizations like the United Nations try to help the children.
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‘Forbidden Games: The Justin Fashanu Story’ (2017) overlooks assault
Whether you are straight or gay, Forbidden Games documents a story that is tough to watch. As his brother John has noted, if Justin Fashanu had been born 30 years later, he would have been a hero. Instead, Justin’s life story is filled with regret from almost all who knew him. Stop right there, I’m…
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Review: ‘I Scored a Goal in the FIFA World Cup Final’ (2010)
I Scored a Goal in the FIFA World Cup Final is such a hokey title, that I thought this film must be a spoof. But no, it is an ESPN compilation of interviews of the then 33 remaining players who had actually done the deed, up through WC 2010.
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‘The People of Nejmeh’ (2015) united in soccer
The football stories of underdeveloped countries often reflect their nation’s politics. Elections need to be carefully planned around major sports events. Even in developed nations, politicians use sports to bolster approval, because everyone loves a winner.
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![[Review] ‘Save The Crew: The Fans vs The System’ (2017)](https://soccermoviemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/save-the-crew-logo-e1632518380335.jpg)
[Review] ‘Save The Crew: The Fans vs The System’ (2017)
If they give an Oscar for brilliant documentary made under incredible time pressure, Save the Crew: The Fans vs the System wins hands down. It starts with the first #SaveTheCrew rally: Morgan Hughes: “This is not over! If you came here for a funeral, you’re in the wrong place!”Crowd chants: “We’re not done yet! We’re…
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Stateless teams compete in ‘Desert Fire’ (2016)
Working with the Bertha Foundation, The Guardian newspaper commissioned 12 short documentaries with global impact. Desert Fire covers a team representing Iraqi Kurdistan at the 2016 ConIFA World Cup.
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![[Review] ‘Gold Stars: The Story of the FIFA World Cup Tournaments’ (2017)](https://soccermoviemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/gold-stars.jpg)
[Review] ‘Gold Stars: The Story of the FIFA World Cup Tournaments’ (2017)
You could be 90 years old and remember the greatest moments of all the World Cups. Or you could watch Gold Stars: The Story of the FIFA World Cup Tournaments, released in advance of WC 2018 as a 2-disk set or via streaming.
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‘New Generation Queens’ (2015) – when women can’t play football
Megan went to Zanzibar and was looking for a pickup game. She found a women’s team called the New Generation Queens. They were getting chased off fields because Zanzibar is 99% Muslim, and women aren’t supposed to play football. But they prevail, and this pleasant little film, with an ethnographic story and a long title,…
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’17’ (2017) is the Jordan we are meant to see
I viewed the documentary 17 at the 2017 Arab Film Festival in San Francisco. The purpose of the festival, now in its 21st year, is to challenge the Arab stereotypes that have been promulgated in American culture. The festival films “reflect the varied realities of Arab lives around the world.”
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Football is medicine for ‘The Other Kids’ (2016)
First-time Director Pablo de la Chica initially set out to make a documentary about the young Ugandan players who had a chance to visit FC Barcelona in 2007. While investigating, de la Chica found Mubiru Reagan playing soccer in a garbage dump near the Mandela National Stadium. The landfill is heavy with the toxic smell…
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Review: ‘The Streets Don’t Lie’ (2017)
The Streets Don’t Lie is a 3-episode mini-series from the 2017 season of Red Bull TV. Each 27-minute episode follows former French International Djibril Cissé as he travels to London, Berlin, and Paris. In each city, he interviews 3 candidates, from which he selects one player to train with a Red Bull academy for one…
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Style and skill in ‘Concrete Football’ (2016)
After the USMNT debacle of failing to qualify for WC 2018, Americans are arguing how to create the best players in the world. Polemists should watch Ballon sur Bitume. Directors Jesse Adang and Syrine Boulanouar show how, in France, some of the most skilled players are rising from small playing fields in the hood.
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More FIFA corruption in ‘The March of the White Elephants’ (2015)
In The March of the White Elephants, Director Craig Tanner continues the work he began with his first film, exposing the societal insanity of spending billions on stadiums for a one month soccer party.
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The bad guys win in ‘Forever Pure’ (2016)
As told to Director Maya Zinshtein, what goes on in a stadium is not just a mirror of society, but indicates the direction society is going. Forever Pure is a uniquely panoptic film of soccer and society. We see that football clubs can be a toy for oligarchs, a tool for politicians, a burning torch…
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Romanian corruption in ‘Craiova versus Craiova’ (2016)
What is the most extraordinary aspect of the documentary Craiova versus Craiova? It’s not that 2 teams claimed to be the same club and then played each other in the Romanian Second Division. What’s amazing is that this excellent film was created by a student as his senior journalism project at a Brazilian university. Director…
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Could ‘George Best: All by Himself’ (2016) happen today?
Director Daniel Gordon brings different insights to his @ESPN3030 George Best movie, but is the story even relevant today? Players now are too valuable to let fail.
