Kicking It
Kicking It | |
---|---|
Directed by | Susan Koch Jeff Werner |
Written by | Susan Koch |
Produced by | Ted Leonsis Jedd Wider Todd Wider |
Narrated by | Colin Farrell |
Edited by | Jeff Werner |
Music by | Barry Cole |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Kicking It is a 2008 documentary film directed by Susan Koch and Jeff Werner focusing on the experiences of seven homeless people at the Homeless World Cup football (soccer) game. Featured in the documentary, narrated by actor Colin Farrell were residents of Afghanistan; Kenya; Dublin, Ireland; Charlotte, North Carolina; Madrid, Spain and St. Petersburg, Russia. The film premiered in January 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival and is being distributed by Liberation Entertainment, Netflix and ESPN. It has received mixed reviews.
Background
The Homeless World Cup is an annual international football competition for the homeless, first held in 2003 in Austria. The documentary was filmed during 2006, when the event was hosted in Cape Town, South Africa. 48 teams composed of 500 homeless persons gathered to compete.[1]
Co-producer Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, described the documentary as an act of "filmanthropy", "using film and other media platforms to catalyze social change and actively give back to society."[2] Narrator Colin Farrell indicated that he decided to participate in the documentary after seeing it and determining that the film was both "undeniably moving" and "important", noting that he was particularly affected by the stories of Afghanistan's Najib and Ireland's Simon.[3]
Distribution
At Sundance, sports broadcaster ESPN signed on to help the film secure theatrical and DVD distribution while securing television rights worldwide to itself.[4] Subsequently, such distribution was secured through Liberation Entertainment and Netflix.[5]
Critical reception
Although according to
In other areas, reviews have also been mixed.
See also
References
- ^ Bell, Jack (2008-09-09). "A world cup with the goal of helping lives off the field". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Alipour, Sam (2008-05-07). "Kicking It, an interview with..." Page Two. espn. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ "Colin Farrell narrated on Kicking It". homelessworldcup.org. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Martin, Peter (2008-01-20). "Sundance deal: ESPN picks 'Kicking It'". cinematical.com. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Bartyzel, Monika (2008-01-29). "News bites: Raimi heads back to TV, 'Kicking It' gets picked & 'Da Vinci' props auction". cinematical.com. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Cohn, Bob (2008-06-27). "Leonsis kick-starts a charitable film". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Toal, Drew (June 12–18, 2008). "Kicking It". Time Out New York. No. 663. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Kohn, Eric. "Street soccer: the Homeless World Cup gets mainstream exposure in 'Kicking It'". The New York Press. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Lee, Nathan (2008-06-13). "Homeless, but hopeful". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Neumaier, Joe (2008-06-13). "Kicking It". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Cogshell, Tim (2008-06-26). "Soccer doc will find a niche audience". Boxoffice. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Williams, Kam (2008-06-11). "Kicking It film review". Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Hillis, Aaron (2008-08-06). "Kicking It: Homeless athletes on the soccer pitch". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Vice, Jeff (2008-09-04). "Kicking It". Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ David, Matt (2008-09-19). "DVD review: Kicking It..." Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ a b c Lovece, Frank. "Kicking It". Film Journal International. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ Lagerwey, Garth (2008-01-23). "Kicking It". Variety. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
External links
- Kicking It at IMDb