In 2013, a perfect storm of misunderstanding, fear, and rebellion results when the Russian billionaire owner of a Jewish Jerusalem soccer team, with a losing record but a rabidly loyal fan base, recruits two players from Chechnya who are Muslim. There are heroes and villains here, but not always where you would expect to find them. A fascinating and frightening lesson in how money, fans, history, politicians and prejudice can come together to turn a sports event into a political controversy. The film will be followed by a discussion led by filmmaker Maya Zinshstein.
“shocking portrait of a team and its fans” Variety review
“frighteningly insightful.” Hollywood Reporter
film details
Documentary / Dir: Maya Zinshtein / Israel / 2016 / Hebrew w/ Eng ST/ 85 min
festivals
2016 Best Director of a Documentary, Best Editing Jerusalem Film Festival ; Faith in Film Award Toronto International Film Festival; Special Jury Prize RiverRun International Film Festival
