Ole Schulz

Winner or loser? To think only in this categories, that´s the cruel side of sport – not only of the professional.

If you see the documentary „The Other Final” (Netherlands 2003, directed by Johan Kramer) you may think more about this dichotomy. It has been parallel to the Soccer World Cup final between Brazil and Germany in 2002, that a Dutch guy (after he was reflecting more about the meaning of losing ´cause the Netherlands didn´t qualify for the WC) organized a football game between the two last countries in the FIFA ranking – Bhutan in Himalaya against the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Bhutan´s foreign minister says in the film, that he don´t like to value everything only in terms of success and failure. Bhutan has another concept for measuring the satisfaction of their fellow countrymen: Instead of the GDP („Gross domestic product”) they are using the GDH, the „Gross national happiness”. Unfortunately other nations still hesitate to adopt the GDH.

Meanwhile we live in a world where only sucess counts - not least in the world of professional football. These shady sides are one of the focal points of this year´s documentaries at the „11mm” Soccer Film Festival in Berlin: The often ruthless business of player´s agents („Spielerberater”/Germany 2012 and „Strippenzieher im Millionengeschäft Fußball”/Germany 2013), drug money in football („The two Escobars”/USA & Colombia 2010) or professional players who are fighting against oppressing circumstances („Les rebelles du foot”/France 2012).

But the main focus of the festival this year is the 10^th anniversary, says Birger Schmidt, one of the „11mm” founders, in the Lobby of the cinema „Babylon” in the eastern center of Berlin, opposite to the legendary theatre „Volksbühne”. Because of the jubilee „11mm” will crown the best football film ever („of all time”) on Monday – in two categories, documentary and fiction. In the call-for-entries have been about 120 films. Now the jury has to choose the „winner” out of ten films each („The Other Final” is one of the nominees for the documentary award).

The idea for a genuine Soccer Film Festival was born in 2003, explains Schmidt. In the beginning it was difficult, because not many believed it would work out. But it did. Especially in the upcoming of 2006 WC in Germany more people got interested. „First we had mostly documentaries, but now there are also quite a lot of nice fiction films”, especially from Scandinavia and Latin America, but also from the States and some non-football countries.   

From Berlin „11mm” expanded to the whole country and 2010 and 2011 the Festival toured through nine cities in Germany. „Every year we have more than 20 premieres”, and the best film get´s the „Golden 11”, an audience award. Beside this „11mm” offers a short film competition („Shortkicks”) and also a special program for children – „quite a lot for six days”.

„11mm” has been the first Soccer Film festival in the world, but it´s still „hard to get the money every year”, says Birger Schmidt. Most of the funds come from the Cultural Foundation of the German Football Association („DFB-Kulturstiftung”), but „11mm” is still „a non-profit festival”,

After Berlin the caravan moves on: If you are getting curious about football films, you should visit Rio de Janeiro in May. Then the Festival „Cinefoot”, the only other bigger Soccer Film Festival in the world, is going to take place at the „cidade maravilhosa”.

More information’s under:
www.11-mm.de
www.cinefoot.org

„11mm” Shortkicks 2013 Trailer: