BUTTERFLY

by Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey Kauffman
Indyca snc
| 80’ & 52’ | Italy | 2018 | |
Intimately filmed over 3 years, this coming of age story delicately portrays Italian teenager Irma’s rise to fame, and the crushing defeat that changes her life and sense of self.





China Heavyweight

by Yung Chang
EyeSteelFilm
| 89' | Canada, China | 2012 | HD |
Award-winning filmmaker Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze) returns to China for another riveting documentary on that country’s ever-changing economic landscape—this time through the lens of sports. In China Heavyweight, Chang follows the charismatic Qi Moxiang, a former boxing star and state coach who recruits young fighting talent from the impoverished farms and villages across Sichuan province. A select few boys (and girls) are sent to national training centers, with the hope of discovering China’s next Olympic heroes. But will these potential boxing champions leave it all behind to be the next Mike Tyson? Their rigorous training, teenage trials and family tribulations are expertly intertwined with Coach Qi’s own desire to get back in the ring for one more shot at victory. Cinematically rich and intimately observed, China Heavyweight is all at once thrilling sports drama, astute social commentary and a beautifully crafted portrait of an athlete.





Coach Zoran and His African Tigers

by Sam Benstead
Century Films
| 75’&60’ | UK | 2013 | HD |
South Sudan became an independent state in July 2011, after almost 50 years of civil war. This film follows veteran Serbian coach Zoran Djordjevic as he sets about building the first national football team in this new country, one of the most undeveloped in the world. When South Sudan loses the oil money that makes up a staggering 98% of government revenue, financial meltdown beckons. Under intense pressure, the football team compete in their first ever major international tournament, overcoming malaria, death and poverty. Amidst the chaos a fascinating portrait emerges of the birth of a nation.


RAISE THE BAR

Raise the Bar

by Gudjon Ragnarsson
Sagafilm, Pystymetsä
| 70’ | Iceland, Finland | 2020 | 2K |
High anxiety and a low self-esteem is a known and growing problem for young girls today. We get an insight into the mind of the girls and their path towards their teenage years. This is a story about growing up, were we explore the ideas the girls have about themselves and what is changing in their lives as they train basketball in a way we have hardly seen before. We look at them both as individuals, as girls in sports and as team players. The basketball is the red thread through the story, but adding the layers of the individual girls into the film to understand how they are taking the tools they are handed and using that in their everyday life. It therefore also deals with child participation in matters that are important to them.





The Optimists

by Gunhild Westhagen Magnor
Skofteland Film AS, Mantaray Film
| 90’ & 52’ & 3x39' | Norway | 2013 | HD |
The volleyball ladies THE OPTIMISTS (66-98) haven’t played a proper match in 30 years. Until now. Fearing age? Queen of the team Goro (98) might change your ideas. Many of us fear age. Youth is our modern world's ideal. These ballplaying ladies might change our ideas, and possibly make us realize that those who do get to experience old age are actually the lucky ones.





European Awards Nomination Shortlist

Ultra

by Balazs Simonyi
Speak Easy Project
| 81’&52’ | Hungary, Greece | 2017 | HD |
A unique insight into the pasts, hearts and minds of four everyday athletes embraced by the running director. Their dream and burden is to finish an extreme running race to test their limits, heal their souls and release their demons.