Berlinale Meets Fußball: Successful Premiere Combines Film and Football for the UEFA EURO 2024

As part of the cultural programme for the EURO 2024, the 74th Berlin International Film Festival was able to create a unique event that put the spotlight on young football talent from all over Germany: Berlinale Meets Fußball.

Under the motto diversity and inclusion, the Berlinale commissioned the production of eleven documentary short films about eleven young football teams. The resulting compilation film Eleven Tomorrows: Berlinale Meets Fußball celebrated its world premiere at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele on February 21, 2024. The short films portray young footballers and were realised by students of the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF) under the artistic direction of Benedetta Films.

The Berlinale also invited all the young people involved in the project to take part in the premiere, a panel and a workshop. The panel “Meet the Ref”, presented by the Philipp Lahm Stiftung, offered insights into promoting mutual understanding and respect between amateur football players and referees, while the "Film Workshop" under the direction of Sadek Asseily and Julia Härtel introduced the participants to the basics of filmmaking.

Tim Frohwein from the Philipp Lahm Stiftung on the success of the “Meet the Ref” panel: “The ‘Meet the Ref’ panel in Berlin once again showed that football can be a key to opening up spaces for discussion. Over 100 children, young people and adults from different regions of Germany and various backgrounds exchanged views on important topics such as respect, cohesion and tolerance. It’s encouraging to see that formats like ours also get a stage at a film festival like the Berlinale”.

Sadek Asseily, head of the “Film Workshop”, adds: “The Berlinale Meets Fußball film workshop was not just a workshop - it was a firework display of creativity, intensive teamwork and an impressive demonstration of how diverse and at the same time meaningful football can be for people”.

After the successful kick-off in Berlin, the ball is now rolling again: Eleven Tomorrows: Berlinale Meets Fußball will be shown at a series of screenings in the clubs’ home towns in the presence of club members, HFF students and patrons. The films will also be presented at other festivals and Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg has taken over the distribution of the films.

Screenings of Eleven Tomorrows: Berlinale Meets Fußball:

April 8, 2024, Cinestar, Chemnitz
Club: Athletic Sonnenberg e.V.

April 10, 2024, Cineplex Titania, Berlin
Clubs: FC Internationale Berlin 1980 e.V. and Türkiyemspor Berlin 1978 e.V.

April 17, 2024, Zeise Kinos, Hamburg
Club: K.S. Polonia Hamburg e.V.

April 27, 2024, Kinopolis, Bonn
Club: ISC AlHilal Bonn e.V.

Further screenings are planned for April and May:

Crostwitz, club: SG Crostwitz 1981 e.V.
Feuchtwangen, club: SV 67 Weinberg e.V.
Ingolstadt, club: FC Ingolstadt 04 – Inclusion team (football for the blind)
Munich, clubs: FC Español München e.V., TSV Maccabi München e.V. and FFC Wacker München 99 e.V.

The Berlin International Film Festival is taking part in the projects of the Stiftung Fußball & Kultur Euro2024 with Berlinale Meets Fußball.
The short film compilation is a Berlinale cooperation with the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF), under the artistic direction of Benedetta Films and with support from the Philipp Lahm Stiftung.