Interviews with two film directors not only about football
Carlos Morelli and Widad Shafakoj in two interesting interviews.
A FEW QUESTIONS FOR CARLOS MORELLI, DIRECTOR OF HOME TEAM
Your film is about growin-up with the background of a rising football career. For Tito in his age it is a big test. Could you please tell me more about the novel it was based upon? Does it come from a real experience of a football talent?
The Novel was written by an ex profesional futbol player from Uruguay, but this story is not only a personal direct experience. As far as I know Mr. Baldi didn´t had a similar life as Tito. Mainly the story of the book is mix between his personal story and the stories of his football mates that he meet in the different teams that he played. Is my understanding that Mr.Baldi was not the greatest super player as Tito, and he also was not as poor as Tito, but in some point he did drop school because of football training and had the experience of facing the void when his career as a professional football player was coming to an end. Although the story from the book is a little different than from the movie, the thing most attracted me reading the novel, was that the book was written from the perspective of someone who knew the universe of football, his voice as an author is authentic and this was a powerful source of inspiration to write the script and shot the movie.
What does it mean to be a very young football talent in Uruguay? Do they get a support from the government?
In Uruguay to be a good football player could be a game changer in your life. It´s a very appreciated talent, and there is a lot of chances to grow and develop your talents. In Uruguay everybody loves futbol, it´s a sport that defines us as a society, and when a kid show talent immediately stands out.
In my understanding there is no direct and specific support from government to the young boys that have talent in football. By the time I wrote the script all my research pointed into this direction: this talented football players, and their families, will had to deal with the clubs and managers by them selfs. But in the last years there was a clear intention from the government to have rules and regulations regarding the rights and needs of this boys.
There might be programs and new projects in this direction that I am not aware: I am Uruguayan, but since 8 years I live and work in Germany with my wife and kids, I develop the research and the script of this movie from Berlin, then I went to Uruguay for 4 months to shot the film, and returned to Berlin to finish the post production process. I am not completely involve and inform about the course of this kind of issues in Uruguay. I do know that when the film was premiered in Uruguay in comercial theaters, it was watched by an unusual amount of public (breaking many box office records in Uruguay) and for a while the film it self (as the book when was published) produced a lot of discussions and social interactions about the rights of this boys, and the need from the institution to protect them against the greedy interest of the "futbol passion-industry".
A FEW QUESTIONS FOR WIDAD SHAFAKOJ, DIRECTOR OF 17
Can you tell me what football means for Jordan?
Football is a global sport, in Jordan we are fascinated by it, we hold big events when the Classico or the World Cup matches are happening. Because we are such big fans, the sport is the most common in Jordan, which automatically translates into having many national teams, football clubs and leagues for all ages, and both boys and girls.
What does it mean to be a very young football talent in Jordan? Do they get a support from the government?
In Jordan most people tend to nurture a football talent, support comes mostly from clubs and the Jordan Football Association of which the head is HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. All national and club teams get the chance to go to training camps in Europe, Africa and America. When it comes to the U17 female football team, they were given exceptional attention to prepare them for the World Cup, which was a historical event to take place in Jordan.
I read in the press kit that the idea of making 17 started after you were introduced to 26 girls by HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. What was the shooting like? Did you get trust to capture girls´ feelings right away? I mean some interviews and shots are very emotional and you had to get close to them.
Filming with the girls was quite personal, I had to invade their space a little, which was uncomfortable at first, but became very natural at a later stage. I spent a lot of time with the girls before I started filming them, so we did form a friendship of some sort, and by the time I got to their homes and filmed them and their families, it was smooth and comfortable for all of us. I still till this day like to keep in touch with them, and I feel a sisterly bond with all of them.