Ready Steady Doc! 16 – 23 February 2012
5th European Documentary Festival at Ciné Lumière, the Austrian Cultural Forum London, the Hungarian Cultural Centre, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Lithuanian Embassy and University College London
To celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games, the 5th edition of the European Documentary Festival, entitled Ready Steady Doc!, will tackle contrasting points of view and the various ways of experiencing and filming sports. From the Homeless World Cup to the disappearing Rimet Trophy, from a four-year-old marathon runner to an 83-year-old pole vaulter, these films have many fascinating stories to tell.
An impressive line-up of sport celebrities will attend: the manager of the Spanish National Football Team Vicente del Bosque, French football star Vikash Dhorasoo, five time Serie A Italian football champion Marco Tardelli, Hungarian three-time water-polo Olympic champion György Kárpáti, European senior vice-champion in pole-vault Herbert Sepp, 83-year-old Belgian Olympic athlete Yvonne Van Bets, and more!
No less than seven documentaries will focus on football. Individual players are celebrated, such as Czech footballer Antonin Panenka in Panenka Against the Rest of the World, which includes famous archive footage from the 1976 European Championship. Other documentaries will take a broader view, highlighting the cooperation of a team as a whole: for instance, Danish Dynamite follows the Danish National Football Team’s rise to glory, culminating in their triumph in the 1992 European Championship.
Similarly, The Soul of the Reds shows various moments of the Spanish football team's history, using anecdotes and interviews with important personalities of the Spanish football scene. Substitute offers a more intimate view of a football team's day to day life, as footballer Vikash Dhorasoo makes the most of his time on the sidelines by filming behind-the-scenes moments of the French football team's preparation for the 2006 World Cup.
Two documentaries, Australia and Kick-Off, will center on the 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. Finally, many football fans will have heard of the disappearance of the previous world cup, known as the Rimet Trophy, in 1983, but few people know the incredible and mysterious events surrounding it. This will all change, thanks to The Rimet Trophy.
Other sports also feature prominently in our selection of documentaries, starring often atypical athletes, such as 83-year-old Herbert Sepp, Estonia's best professional pole-vaulter in his age group, who is the main focus of World Champion. Another highly unusual hero will star in Marathon Boy: four-year-old Budhia Singh, who is plucked from an Indian slum by his coach and trained to become India’s greatest runner. To The Limit follows German brothers Alexander and Thomas Huber on their attempt to break a speed climbing record up the 1000-metre high towering rock face of ‘El Capitán.' Sabas offers an intimate portrait of Arvydas Sabonis, the greatest Lithuanian basketball player of all time.
Going back to 1956, Freedom’s Fury, the award winning feature documentary produced by Quentin Tarantino, tells the story of the ‘Bloodiest Game in Olympic History,’ the infamous water polo showdown between Hungary and the Soviets at the Melbourne Olympics. London 1948 – War & Olympics captures the reminiscences of the former Belgian Olympic team as they are shown footage of the 1948 Olympics, in which they fared very well. For picturesque settings of the Carpathian mountain region and spectacular shots of snowboarding jumps, audiences will discover the gripping From Romania with Love.
www.europeandocfestival.org.uk
Ready Steady Doc! is a joint project of EUNIC London (European Union National Institutes for
Culture), supported by the European Commission Representation in the UK. This year's European
Documentary Festival is a partnership between the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Czech Centre, the Embassy of Denmark, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the UK, the Estonian Embassy in London, Flanders House, the Goethe-Institut, the Hungarian Cultural Centre London, the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, the Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain, the Italian Cultural Institute London, the Romanian Cultural Institute, and UCL.
For further information and photos, please contact:
Natacha Antolini on 020 7871 3520 or natacha.antolini@ambafrance.org.uk
Justine Goy on 020 7871 3521 or justine.goy@ambafrance.org.uk
Programme
Substitute
France | 2006 | col | 70 mins | dir.s. Fred Poulet and Vikash Dhorasoo | in French with English subtitles
6 April, 2006. Fred Poulet, singer, author and video filmmaker asks his friend, Vikash Dhorasoo, to film his everyday life until 9 July, day of the World Cup final in Berlin. Dhorasoo has been selected to be one of the 23 players of the French team during the qualifying matches in Germany, and ends up playing for a mere 16 minutes. Doomed to watch from the sidelines, this uncommonly gifted football player makes the most of his status as a substitute by filming thrilling scenes with his two super 8 cameras. A sincere portrait of a wounded man, lost in the greatest sport event in the world.
Followed by a Q&A with Vikash Dhorasoo, footballer and director, & Fred Poulet, co-director
Thu 16 Feb | 8.30pm | £10, conc. £8 | Ciné Lumière
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Freedom's Fury
Hungary | 2006 | col | 105 mins | dir.s. Colin Keith Gray and Megan Raney Aarons | in English
Freedom’s Fury is an award winning feature documentary produced by Quentin Tarantino about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the ‘Bloodiest Game in Olympic History.’ This hard-hitting film tells the story of the fateful moment in 1956 when Hungary explodes in a people power revolt, which climaxes in the infamous water polo showdown between Hungary and the Soviets at the Melbourne Olympics. Known as the ‘Blood in the Water Match,’ the documentary follows the journey of the Hungarian Olympic water polo team, who find themselves at the centre of one of the most politicized sports match ever played.
Followed by a Q&A with Colin Gray, co-director of the film, and the captain of the former Hungarian water polo team, György Kárpáti.
Fri 17 Feb | 6.15pm | £5, conc. £3 | Ciné Lumière
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The Soul of the Reds
Spain | 2009 | col and b&w | 82 mins | dir. Santiago Zannou | in Spanish with English subtitles
The film looks at different eras in the history of the Spanish football team. Santiago Zannou shows various moments of the Reds’ story, from their beginnings up to now. He receives help from important personalities in Spanish football history such as Di Stefano, Pepe Claramunt, Víctor Muñoz, Luis Suárez, and more recently, Torres, Casillas and Cesc – without forgetting the recent past with Hierro, Luis Enrique and Zubizarreta, among many others.
Followed by a Q&A with Vicente del Bosque, former footballer and current manager of the Spanish National Football Team (winner of the 2010 World Cup). Chaired by Jimmy Burns, journalist and author.
Fri 17 Feb | 8.45pm | £10, conc. £8 | Ciné Lumière
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The Rimet Trophy
Italy | 2010 | col | 50 mins | dirs. Filippo Macelloni & Lorenzo Garzella | in Italian with English subtitles
Using filmed reconstructions, archive material and interviews with witnesses and experts, this documentary charts the history of the incredible and mysterious events behind the Jules Rimet Trophy. Forged in gold at the insistence of Jules Rimet in 1929, the cup dates back nearly a century. Along with international players such as Carlos Alberto Torres, Joao Havelange, Gary Lineker and Jorge Valdano and with the help of experts, historians, writers and journalists including Martin Atherton and Mauro Betting, the documentary traces the history of the trophy, revisiting some places and meeting witnesses who help us shed light on the mystery of the Cup.
Followed by a Q&A with five time Serie A champion, Italian World Cup hero, and current Assistant Manager for the Republic of Ireland National Team, Marco Tardelli.
Sat 18 Feb | 6.30pm | Free | Italian Cultural Institute
For press enquiries, contact: Thomas H Green press.icilondon@esteri.it 020 7396 4427
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Australia
Romania | 2009 | 64 mins | dir. Claudiu Mitcu | an HBO Romania Original Production | in Romanian with
English subtitles
This film follows the genesis of the first National Romanian Football Team that participated in the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne in 2008. Full of insights into homeless people’s lives, Australia shows their transformation from outcasts to true football players. The documentary focuses on the players, and on how such a dramatic transformation may change the lives of socially challenged youth. Six homeless people – Vasile Bereghi, Beniamin Calancea, Pavel Calancea, Daniel Podina, Claudiu Kostity and Radu Muntean – are trained by Mihai Rosus, their coach.
Preceded by an introduction by Homeless World Cup President, Mel Young.
Shown with From Romania with Love
Mon 20 Feb | 6.00pm | £5, conc. £3: Australia + From Romania with Love | Ciné Lumière
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From Romania with Love
Romania/Germany | 2005 | col | 26 mins | dir. René Eckert | in English, Slovak, Romanian, German and French with English subtitles
Bringing together professional snowboarders from Slovakia, France, Poland and Hungary and putting them alongside amateurs as well as Romanian professional boarders, this documentary has us follow a road trip through the Romanian snowboarding scene and discover the Carpathian mountain region. From Romania with Love is part of an ongoing project which is as much about an exchange between people who share the same passion as a documentation of the most progressive Eastern European freestyle snowboarding.
Shown with Australia
Mon 20 Feb | 6.00pm | £5, conc. £3: Australia + From Romania with Love | Ciné Lumière
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Kick-Off
Austria | 2009 | col | 94 mins | dir. Hüseyin Tabak | in German with English subtitles
The Homeless World Cup is an annual international football tournament, uniting teams of people, among them the homeless, asylum seekers, former alcoholics and drug addicts. None of them will earn money in this competition – it’s about much more than that: a chance to play themselves back into life. Kick-Off is a remarkable documentary that follows the Austrian team as they prepare physically and mentally for the tournament in Melbourne, Australia in 2008. The film tells the stories of these determined individuals as they regain feelings they lost a long time ago: respect, pride, self-confidence and a renewed zest for life.
Followed by a Q&A with Homeless World Cup President Mel Young and director Hüseyin Tabak
Mon 20 Feb | 7.30pm | Free | Austrian Cultural Forum
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Panenka Against the Rest of the World
Czech Republic | 2001 | col | 30 mins | dir. Jan Gogola | in Czech with English subtitles
Czech footballer Antonin Panenka captivated the crowds with his unpredictable and attractive charismatic style in the 70s and 80s. Not only an extremely original player, Panenka was also a very successful one, winning gold and bronze medals at the European Football Championships. He won the Austrian League’s medal twice and was in the winning team of the Austrian Cup three times. The film, neither documentary nor pure fiction, illustrates Panenka’s abilities via a fictional match and includes famous archive footage from the 1976 European Championship in Belgrade with Panenka’s now famous game-winning penalty kick.
Shown with World Champion
Tue 21 Feb | 6.30pm | Free | Hungarian Cultural Centre
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World Champion
Estonia | 2009 | col | 36 mins | dir. Moonika Siimets | in Estonian with English subtitles
Just a schoolboy when Estonia became independent, Herbert Sepp was later imprisoned by the Soviet state in a Siberian camp. Years later, 83-year-old Herbert stands on his head, does handsprings and is the best Estonian professional polevaulter in his age group. Herbert’s achievements include winning a silver medal in the European Senior Championship games. But, as Finland prepares to host the World Senior Championship games, his dream is to win the World Champion title and break the world record. Does he have what it takes to make his dreams come true?
Followed by Q&A with Herbert Sepp and Moonika Siimets, film director
Shown with Panenka Against the Rest of the World
Tue 21 Feb | 6.30pm | Free | Hungarian Cultural Centre
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Sabas
Lithuania | 1998 | col | 56 mins | dir. Vytautas V. Landsbergis | in English
This documentary is a sport and family portrait of Arvydas Sabonis (nickname Sabas), the greatest Lithuanian basketball player of all time. It shows all the most important moments from the history of basketball in Lithuania, beginning with the European championships of 1938. The legendary sports professional talks about the unforgettable Zalgiris-CSKA (Central Sports Club of the Army) matches in which the Lithuanians defeated the CSKA – which one could with some justification call the Soviet team – three times in a row, in 1985, 1986 and 1987, and discusses the Olympic Games in Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta, as well as the European championships.
Tue 21 Feb | 8.00pm | Free | Lithuanian Embassy
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Marathon Boy
UK | 2010 | col | 98 mins | dir. Gemma Atwal | in Oriya & English
An award winning, action packed real life drama, Marathon Boy is the story of four-year-old Budhia Singh, who is plucked from an Indian slum by his coach and trained to become India’s greatest runner. But what starts as a real-life “Slumdog Millionaire” quickly becomes more complex, as real life often does: the boy’s coach and mother try to make the most of the boy’s determination, while the Indian government accuses them of child endangerment. Using footage gathered over five years, Atwal presents the circumstances and the controversy in a vérité style that gives an immediate sense of involvement. A tale of greed, envy and broken dreams that will resonate well past the last frame
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Followed by a Q&A with dir. Gemma Atwal (tbc)
Wed 22 Feb | 6.30pm | Free | University College London
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To The Limit
Germany/Austria | 2007 | col | 96 mins | dir. Pepe Danquart | in German with English subtitles
Two brothers, one goal and just 180 minutes to reach it. Award winning filmmaker Pepe Danquart accompanies brothers Alexander and Thomas Huber on their attempt to break a speed climbing record. Together with his team he faced many technical challenges to capture their attempt to climb up the 1000-metre high towering rock face of ‘El Capitán’ in Yosemite National Park in the United States. A breathtaking spectacle, the film also explores what drives the brothers to constantly test their own limits and how they cope with the dangers involved.
Followed by a Q&A with director Pepe Danquart
Wed 22 Feb | 8.15pm | £5, conc. £3 | Ciné Lumière
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Danish Dynamite
Denmark | 2008 | col | 107 mins | dirs. Mads Kamp Thulstrup and Carsten Sosted | in Danish with English subtitles
This is the story of the Danish National Football Team’s rise to glory in the period 1979-92, and the team’s transformation from amateurs to heroes. The audience gets to relive the magic moments from the biggest games and has the opportunity to see the heroes of the period – Simonsen, Laudrup, Povlsen and Elkjær – like they have never seen them before. The team’s three coaches are at the centre of the story, and in their own way define the period. The film starts with Kurt ‘Nikkelaj Nielsen’s’ departure in 1979. The young and ambitious German Sepp Piontek is introduced, followed by Richard Møller Nielsen, who succeeded in winning the European Championship in 1992.
Thu 23 Feb | 6.15pm | Free | Hungarian Cultural Centre
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London 1948 – War & Olympics
Belgium | 2008 | col and b&w | 50 mins | dirs. Luc Kempen, Alain Van Driessche and Luc Lemaitre | in Dutch and French with English subtitles
No Belgian Olympic Team performed better than the one that travelled to London three years after World War II. London had four weeks to organise the 14th Olympic Summer Games. Sixty years after these first Post War Olympic Summer Games ‘Belga Sport’ brought together the members of the 1948 Belgian Olympic Team. In a cinema complex in Brussels they watched the recently discovered official film made of their Olympics. The oldest athlete, a fencer, was 99. And while outside the gusty winds blew everything away, inside the warmth of everlasting friendship and sweet memories created an unforgettable atmosphere.
The screening will be preceded by a free drink, and followed by a Q&A with 83-year-old Olympic athlete Yvonne Van Bets.
Thu 23 Feb | 8.15pm | £5, conc. £3 | Ciné Lumière
