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Soccer Film Festival
Kicking and Screening
Hosted by: Rachel Markus and Greg Lalas
The event will start on: October 14, 2009, 8:00 pm
And will end on: October 18, 2009, 10:00 pm
Washington, D.C. , Washington, D.C. District of Columbia
703-533-4823 kbohen@bwfcom.com
Posted by: clacek
Celebrate the “Beautiful Game” in Washington, D.C. Tickets for the All Soccer Film Festival Kicking& Screening on Sale Now Kicking & Screening, a soccer film festival dedicated to celebrating the “Beautiful Game,” presented by AOL sites Going, when.com, and Fanhouse, kicks off in Washington, DC, on Thursday, October 15, the day after the US Men’s National Team plays their final World Cup Qualifying match against Costa Rica at RFK Stadium. Kicking & Screening, the brainchild of a unique team of soccer-crazed cinephiles – Rachel Markus and Greg Lalas - recently debuted in New York City, and its successful five-day run provided the impetus to bring it to the nation’s capital. “We hope that Kicking & Screening helps, in some small way, to raise the bar going forward for the types of soccer films being made,” Markus says. “For such a beautiful game, it's only a matter of time, we hope, that the quality and magic of soccer films catches up.” Markus, co-founder of the organization, developed a passion for soccer in her childhood when she was the only girl in an all-boys soccer league. Along the way, a long-held love of movies eventually led her to film school. In short, it is no surprise she combined the two and conjured up the concept of Kicking & Screening. Greg Lalas, also a co-founder, “got into the game” in his formative years in Greece. His family then moved to a suburb of Detroit, where he played in house leagues and on travel teams. He eventually played at Brown University and later turned pro (as did older brother, Alexi Lalas.) After retiring, he earned his masters in creative writing, and is today the editor of Goal.com Magazine, a soccer monthly, and a TV commentator. Markus and Lalas met through mutual friends and what began as a drink at a pub, ended with the birth of Kicking & Screening. They rounded out the team with Kendall Simmonds, who joined as Director of Community Outreach. Simmonds was captain of the UC-Berkeley soccer team and has many years’ experience organizing non-for-profit fundraisers for sports-related activities. Kicking & Screening in Washington (K&S/DC’09) features four films, special guests, and a literary reading: October 15 at La Maison Française at the French Embassy – The screening of Les Yeux dans les Bleus, which documents the compelling story of France’s unexpected 1998 World Cup championship. October 16 at Busboys and Poets – A soccer literary reading featuring Grant Wahl (The Beckham Experiment) and Teri Cross Davis (Folger Poetry Board) opens the evening. This is followed by directors Alex and Christopher Browne introducing their film Sons of Sakhnin United, a powerful documentary which follows a multi-ethnic team in a small Arab town in northern Israel as it struggles to survive in the Israeli Premier League. October 17 at E Street Cinema – A unique midnight screening of the classic soccer film Victory, which tells the story of a ragtag team of Allied prisoners of war suddenly recruited to play a match against the German National Team in Paris. Featured actor of the film and former New York Cosmos star, Werner Roth, will introduce the film. October 18 at Avalon Theater – A Sunday morning family event with the screening of The Big Green, a kid-friendly film about an English teacher who transforms an underdog gang of rascals into champions. Free admission for all kids under the age of twelve. “Washington’s richness of diverse communities and soccer fans reflects the depth and breadth of the game,” Markus says. “It also reflects the global reach and scope of the films we’ve selected.” As firm believers in soccer's power to unite and bring hope to people around the world, Kicking & Screening’s founders are dedicated to using the festival as an agent of change. In support of this sentiment, a portion of the proceeds from K&S/DC’09 will benefit AmericaSCORES and its local affiliate DC SCORES, a national program whose roots are in Washington, D.C., which employs soccer as a building block for teaching academics, social skills, and teamwork among urban youth; and to United for D.C., the charitable arm of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United, which supports reading and literacy as well as healthy lifestyles and life skills initiatives. For tickets please visit www.kickingandscreening.com or the AOL site www.going.com. Tickets will be available online through October 14, but purchasing in advance is recommended with space being limited. About Kicking & Screening The mission of Kicking & Screening is to bring together soccer fans and cinephiles to celebrate the beauty and passion of soccer as captured and expressed on film. Founded in April 2009, Kicking & Screening is a not-for-profit devoted to celebrating soccer-related films and organizing events about "the beautiful game." From narrative classics like Victory to insightful premiers like In the Hands of the Gods, Kicking & Screening provides films and filmmakers with a forum to show their work and unites the fans who make soccer the international passion that it is.
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