Back in action! Here's the K+S New York 2021 film lineup

The Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival marks its return to New York City after a one-year COVID-related hiatus. And we’ve got an amazing lineup of films.

K+S New York 2021 runs October 12-15, with three in-person screenings at Scandinavia House in midtown Manhattan, and one in-person screening at the Upper 90 Soccer Center In Astoria, Queens.

A few highlights of the lineup include:

• the fashion-focused feature Casuals, which examines the “casuals” subculture of the late 1970s and 80s in the UK;

• the world premiere of Rachel Viollet’s highly anticipated film Big-Time Soccer, about the North American Soccer League;

• the U.S. premiere of Rayados 75, an extraordinary inside perspective on Mexican club Monterrey’s remarkable 75th season;

• and the U.S. premiere of the Liverpool FC documentary The End of the Storm, featuring exclusive interviews with Jurgen Klopp, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, among others, and directed by celebrated soccer filmmaker James Erskine.

In addition to the in-person program, our new “Kicking + Streaming” Film Series will present selected films for virtual screenings, allowing fans everywhere to experience great soccer films. The full “Kicking + Streaming” film lineup will be announced soon.

And as always, K+S New York will feature several panel discussions, director Q&As, and special guests. We will announce details of this soon, too.

For K+S New York 2021, we are thrilled to join forces with our friends at Women in Soccer as our social partner. Throughout the festival, we will showcase and promote WIS and all the great work they are doing to empower and support women in the soccer industry.

We can’t wait to see you all again!

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The K+S New York 2021 Film Lineup

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COVID-19 POLICY

In adherence to requirements by the State of New York, proof of vaccination is mandatory for anyone attending a K+S screening. We also ask that masks are worn, covering both nose and mouth, except when eating or drinking in designated areas.

We reserve the right to deny access to anyone refusing to adhere to those guidelines, to leave the building.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public space where people gather. While we make every attempt to provide a safe and sanitized environment, we cannot guarantee that you, your guests, vendors, contractors, or subcontractors will not be exposed to COVID-19 during your visit. Those attending K+S events do so at their own risk of such exposure.

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La película del CF Monterrey "Rayados 75" participará en el Festival de Cine sobre Futbol “Kicking + Screening”

LA HISTORIA

Los Rayados del CF Monterrey es uno de los grandes clubes de México en la actualidad. Pero tienen raíces humildes.

Cuando se fundaron en 1944, nunca imaginaron que algún día jugarían contra el campeón de Europa, el Liverpool FC, en el Mundial de Clubes.

Pero cuando celebraron su 75 aniversario, eso es exactamente lo que hicieron. Sorprendentemente, solo unos días después, Monterrey jugó por el título mexicano contra el Club América.

Todo fue un telón de fondo inolvidable para contar la historia de los primeros 75 años de los Rayados.

DETALLES DE LA PELÍCULA

US Premiere
2019 | 88 minutos | México | Idioma: Español con subtítulos en inglés
Dirigido por Fernando Kalife

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ACOMPAÑANTE: Cascarita

Un juguete de cuerda se queda sin energía constantemente y no puede jugar con sus amigos cargados de batería. Pronto encontrará cómo superar esto y ayudará a sus amigos a salir de la dependencia de las energías no renovables. Dirigida por Jimena Barrera.

EXTRAS

Después de la proyección de las películas, realizaremos una sesión de preguntas y respuestas con el director de Rayados 75, Fernando Kalife.

"Victory" star Werner Roth on playing Baumann and the penalty scene with Stallone

#VictoryWeek: On Saturday, July 31, the iconic soccer film Victory celebrates its 40th anniversary. In celebration, K+S is posting a series of content about the film and its legacy.

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Werner Roth is a living legend of soccer in America. He enjoyed a celebrated playing career, making more than 125 appearances for the New York Cosmos in the NASL, playing alongside the likes of Pele, Carlos Alberto, and Franz Beckenbauer. He also earned 15 caps for the US men’s national team.

For us at K+S, he’s more well-known the man who played Baumann, the captain of the Nazi team in Victory. His face-to-face scene with Sylvester Stallone as they prepare to square off for a penalty kick is as close to Hollywood gold as any soccer film has ever come.

We recently caught up with Roth to discuss the film and his role playing the villain in one of the hallmarks of the soccer-film canon.

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K+S: How did you get involved in the project?

ROTH: Through Pele and [Cosmos owner] Ahmet Ertegun. I flew to LA to meet the producer, Freddie Fields (Ed. Note: Fields is most known for producing American Gigolo and Glory), who gave me a script and said pick a roll. Trust me I didn’t pick Baumann, John did.

K+S: How exactly did that happen?

ROTH: The casting of me as Baumann, the Nazi captain — a hard role to fill in Hollywood, as you can imagine — occurred at a dinner with John [Huston], Freddie, and Pele the night I arrived. My suitcases had been lost in London, and I arrived at the five-star restaurant in what I travelled in — jeans, flip-flops, t-shirt and sweater. Pele was in his Bollywood wedding suit coat. As we joined the table, I saw that John was dressed in a Mexican peasant suit. In any case, he said he wanted to cast me as Baumann because of my “Aryan look,” and I think he read my bio. John promised to direct the pivotal face-to-face scene. He put the thumb and index fingers of both hands together, as directors often do, and looked through it at me as if looking through a camera, and said, “And it will be you…” — then he moved his hands to frame Pele — “…and Stallone. You and Stallone”. I was sold.

K+S: What did Huston know about soccer?

ROTH: Not enough to direct the soccer scenes. He brought in Robert Riger, the genius sports director. (Ed. note: Riger was a groundbreaking TV sports director, including Olympics and ABC’s Wide World of Sports.) On his first day, Robert recruited Pele, Bobby Moore, and me to help with the set-ups.

K+S: What was the atmosphere on set like? With so many footballers and actors mixing it up, it must have been a lively time.

ROTH: It was a bit like the Cosmos in preseason with Pele, Bobby and half the Ipswich side. We were in the beautiful city of Budapest. By day, I was on set watching and absorbing everything I could of John Huston’s filmmaking genius, and at night the cast and crew would explore the city and its clubs and restaurants. Usually, Thursday nights, John would host a poker game. There was also a boxing ring and pub on set with nightly drinking and boxing bouts. Like I said, much like preseason.

K+S: That famous face-to-face scene for the penalty must have been fun.

ROTH: True to his character, Hatch, Sly knew next to nothing about the game and even less about goalkeeping. He made up for his lack of technique and form with an overabundance of enthusiasm and confidence. Genius casting. His body was so beat up from the prison soccer scenes that by the time we shot that penalty, he was in serious pain. And since that was the only soccer scene John directed, there were many, many retakes.

K+S: What was the reaction like when the film came out? We’ve seen pictures from the release party. Were you there? Was it as fun and star-studded as it looked?

ROTH: I don’t recall being at the actual premier, but I did attend the Toronto festival with Stallone, and that was lots of fun. At least that’s what he told me.

K+S: How did your acting in Victory lead to other things in your career and life?

Roth (center) with former Cosmos teammate Pele (right)

ROTH: At the time of Victory, I was interested in and fascinated by the process of filmmaking. My meetings with Freddie Fields in LA and his telling of the project’s conception with Yabo Yablonsky’s script and luring the brilliant John Huston out of retirement with it and their rewriting discussions and casting of it. And then reading the script on the plane back to New York, choosing a role from those not yet cast, and experiencing some the filming and editing. It was all a great learning experience which I never had the opportunity to apply.

Until now, perhaps.

I’m developing what we hope to be a series for television with a writing and producing partner, Roy Houlette, of the story of the New York Cosmos and Clive Toye and my experiences with the club and the American game. So, fingers crossed.

"Men of Hope" director Till Derenbach on Afghan football & documentary filmmaking

On July 29, 2021, Kicking + Screening hosts the the North American premiere of Men of Hope, a powerful documentary about the Afghanistan men's national team. The screening takes place at the Westport Library in Westport, CT, and the film is also available for streaming online from July 30-August 1.

This video is an interview between Men of Hope co-director Till Derenbach and K+S co-founder Greg Lalas. Derenbach, who has produced TV and film in Germany for decades, discusses how the project came about, the difficulty in shooting in a dozen or so far-flung countries, and the inspiration he took from the film's protagonist, German-Croation football manager Petar Segrt.