a summary
In the run-up to the UEFA European Football Championship EURO 2024 in Germany, On Screen will show selected European football short films as part of the official art and culture programme in 24 small and large cities across the country from the end of February 24 until the EURO 2024 final.
This curated series of eight feature films, documentaries and animated films will be accompanied by discussion panels with prominent guests who have shaped and experienced football in Europe in their own individual way. The eight films from France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Hungary and Germany reflect the diversity of Europe with all its fascination, but also its challenges.
In cooperation with cinemas in all 16 federal states, a local jury at each location will publicly select their favourite from all the short films. The prize for the best European football short film will be announced at the closing event.
Film Program
Total length: 81 min., German, FSK 12
The curated series of eight short films (fiction, documentary and animation) from France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Hungary and Germany is very diverse in terms of language, content and form; it shows the topic of football in very different contexts – from amusing to exciting to serious.
Making a selection from the variety of European football short films that the curatorial team has viewed was as challenging as it was rewarding.
And so you will meet a Zlatan fan, accompany a referee in his everyday life, see a match kicked, experience a fan in a car cheering him on, follow how a girl and a soldier meet and how a father-son relationship is put to the test, sympathise with a gay hooligan and cheer on a Spanish lady.
short films
Sur la touche
Short fiction
Director: Hortense Gélinet
France, 2014, 15 min., OV with German subtitles
Samir is a fan of Paris Saint-Germain, which increasingly gets on his girlfriend Anna’s nerves. This changes one day when she is persuaded to go to a match with him.
The Whistle
Documentary
Director: Grzegorz Zariczny
Poland, 2013, 17 min., OV with German subtitles
Marcin is in his thirties, lives with his mother in a small town near Krakow and is trying to make something of his life. But he is stuck, his mother nags him a lot and every weekend, as a referee in the lower Polish leagues, he has to listen to the cheeky comments of players and spectators.
Mitch Match
Animation
Director: Géza M. Tóth
Hungary, 2022, 2 min., no dialogue
There’s only one match left in the box. Think differently!
A good footballer always strives for the top. If all goes well, the biggest teams will be after him and suddenly he’ll be at the World Cup.
Coach
Short fiction
Director: Ben Adler
France/Great Britain 2015
14 min., OV with German subtitles
British father Nigel takes his teenage son to a national team match in France. When the car breaks down, the pair have no choice but to get a lift from a bus of travelling England fans. Nigel’s authority is called into question as his son’s loyalty is transferred to the charismatic leader of the fans.
Checkpoint
Short fiction
Director: Juulia Kalavainen
Portugal 2019, 5 min., no dialogue
A soldier stands lonely guard at a military checkpoint. In the midst of the oppressive, war-torn landscape, a little girl suddenly appears with a football.
Länderspiel
Short fiction
Directro: Sven Schrader, Nadine Schrader
Germany 2011, 2:14 min., OV
Germany-Argentina in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals. Penalty shoot-out. A lonely football fan in his car. On the radio.
I Love Hooligans
Animation
Director: Jan-Dirk Bouw
The Netherlands, 2013, 13 min., OV with German subtitles
A football hooligan is in unconditional love with his club. But because he is gay, he has to hide his identity in order to survive in this world that is so precious to him.
Libre directo
Short fiction
Director: Bernabé Rico
Spain 2011, 13 min., OV with German subtitles
At the age of 60, Adela has a great opportunity to win 300,000 euros and leave her old life behind her. The only condition: She has to shoot a ball into the empty goal from the halfway line during half-time of a Spanish league match.