Ever since we founded the Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival in 2009, people have asked us, What makes a film a soccer film?

It’s a question that, frankly, we had never contemplated before. Our team was — and still is — steeped in the game, including lifelong players, ex-pros, journalists, investors, marketers, and content creators. What made a film a soccer film was always self-evident to us. 

But the question has resonated with us over the years. Often, as we screen festival submissions, we find ourselves asking: Is this really a soccer film?

Usually, the answer is obvious. For example, behind-the-scenes documentaries revolve around action on the field, such as Les Yeux dans les Bleus, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, Diego Maradona, and The End of the Storm, are clearly soccer films.

So too with documentaries that explore the culture around the game. The themes of these films are universal to sports — the passion of fans (e.g., Fever Pitch; Argentina Fútbol Club), the community impact (e.g., The Home Game; Soccertown USA), the intersection of politics and sports (e.g., Mundial: The Highest Stakes; Football Rebels), the business side of the game (e.g., FC Barcelona Confidential; Soka Afrika), or a hero’s journey (e.g., Next Goal Wins; Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story).

Because soccer or soccer culture is central to the narrative, they are, to us, soccer films. Plus, in our minds, soccer’s unique culture and history make these stories richer than they are in other sports. 

Fictional films are more complicated. Certain movies, like Victory, Rudo y Cursi, or Bend It Like Beckham, are obviously soccer films. Again, the game is central to the story.

Others are less obvious. There are many films in which soccer is a significant part of the plot, but the story does not hinge on the game. 

We then have to determine if there is enough “there” there. Is the soccer integral enough? Would a soccer fan feel a connection to the soccer element of the story? These questions lead us to say the brilliant Scottish film Gregory’s Girl is a soccer film, but 10 Things I Hate about You — which includes a young Julia Stiles famously showing off her real-life soccer skills — is not. 

Finally, there is a special category of movies that are definitely not soccer films but sneak in fragments of the game that fanatics like us notice and remember forever. These moments are like little Easter eggs that make us feel like cool insiders because we get the reference that non-socceristas (especially in the United States) don’t. 

A few examples are the “Arsenal offside trap” line in The Full Monty and the Pele speech in the wrestling film Vision Quest.

In the end, what we’ve learned is that there is no one thing that makes a film a soccer film. Soccer-ness is just a gut feeling. 

To steal a line from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, you know a soccer film when you see it.