"People come here to fulfill their dreams." Passion River Films has debuted their official Us trailer for a documentary titled The Workers Cup, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year (in 2017) and went on to play at tons of festivals all over the world including Cph:dox and the Zurich Film Festival. From director Adam Sobel, who spent years in Qatar getting footage, the film profiles the construction of the venues that Qatar is building for the World Cup in 2022. "Inside Qatar's labor camps, African and Asian migrant workers building the facilities of the 2022 World Cup compete in a football tournament of their own." What most people don't know, is that these migrant workers are dying by the dozens (source) trying to complete these facilities, living in terrible conditions - but they still strive on in love for the sport and a desire to contribute something to the world through their hard labor.
- 5/25/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Last year’s dozen selections included Rahul Jain’s Machines (World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award), Adam Sobel’s The Workers Cup and Feras Fayyad’s searing World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary winning Last Men in Aleppo.
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- 11/30/2017
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
'Ali's Wedding'.
Sydney Film Festival.s audience awards were announced today, with Aussie films topping both categories.
Jeffery Walker.s feature debut Ali.s Wedding, a rom-com.based on the life of star and co-writer Osamah Sami, has taken out best narrative feature, while Kate Hickey.s Roller Dreams, which looks at the.the Venice Beach roller dancing scene from 1978 until now,.won best documentary.
Local films Rip Tide and That.s Not Me also made the audience.s top 10 features. Meanwhile Australian docos formed half the documentary category, including The Last Goldfish, The Opposition, Barbecue, and The Pink House.
Sascha Ettinger Epstein.s The Pink House also won the festival.s Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary, a $10,000 cash prize, on Sunday evening.
.The Foxtel Movies Audience Awards are the people's choice awards, and the winners reflect the most popular films at the Festival,. said Sff director Nashen Moodley.
.This year.Ali.s Wedding.and.Roller Dreams, two wonderful films that both take on remarkable true stories, have clearly made a strong impact on audiences..
.The Festival has premiered some fantastic Australian films this year. This result shows the popularity of Australian cinema at the Sydney Film Festival."
The awards were calculated from 20,000 votes.
The full list is below: The Foxtel Movies Audience Awards
Foxtel Movies Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Top Ten: 1. Ali's Wedding, directed by Jeffrey Walker (Australia) 2. Call Me By Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino (Italy, France) 3. Rip Tide, directed by Rhiannon Bannenberg (Australia) 4. That.s Not Me, directed by Gregory Erdstein (Australia) 5. Brigsby Bear, directed by Dave McCary (USA) 6..On Body and Soul, directed by Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary) 7. God's Own Country, directed by Francis Lee (UK) 8. Sami Blood, directed by Amanda Kernell (Sweden, Denmark, Norway) 9. The Woman Who Left, directed by Lav Diaz (Philippines) 10. The Wound, directed by John Trengrove (South Africa, Germany, The Netherlands, France) Foxtel Movies Audience Award for Best Documentary Top Ten: 1. Roller Dreams, directed by Kate Hickey (Australia) 2. The Last Goldfish, directed by Su Goldfish (Australia) 3. Chauka Please Tell Us the Time, directed by Behrouz Boochani and Arash Kamali Sarvestani (The Netherlands, Papua New Guinea) 4. The Opposition, directed by Hollie Fifer (Australia) 5. Barbecue, directed by Matthew Salleh (Australia) 6. The Workers Cup, directed by Adam Sobel (UK) 7. Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, directed by Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana (Canada) 8. The Farthest, directed by Emer Reynolds (Ireland) 9. The Pink House, directed by Sascha Ettinger Epstein (Australia) 10. It's Not Yet Dark, directed by Frankie Fenton (Ireland)...
Sydney Film Festival.s audience awards were announced today, with Aussie films topping both categories.
Jeffery Walker.s feature debut Ali.s Wedding, a rom-com.based on the life of star and co-writer Osamah Sami, has taken out best narrative feature, while Kate Hickey.s Roller Dreams, which looks at the.the Venice Beach roller dancing scene from 1978 until now,.won best documentary.
Local films Rip Tide and That.s Not Me also made the audience.s top 10 features. Meanwhile Australian docos formed half the documentary category, including The Last Goldfish, The Opposition, Barbecue, and The Pink House.
Sascha Ettinger Epstein.s The Pink House also won the festival.s Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary, a $10,000 cash prize, on Sunday evening.
.The Foxtel Movies Audience Awards are the people's choice awards, and the winners reflect the most popular films at the Festival,. said Sff director Nashen Moodley.
.This year.Ali.s Wedding.and.Roller Dreams, two wonderful films that both take on remarkable true stories, have clearly made a strong impact on audiences..
.The Festival has premiered some fantastic Australian films this year. This result shows the popularity of Australian cinema at the Sydney Film Festival."
The awards were calculated from 20,000 votes.
The full list is below: The Foxtel Movies Audience Awards
Foxtel Movies Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Top Ten: 1. Ali's Wedding, directed by Jeffrey Walker (Australia) 2. Call Me By Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino (Italy, France) 3. Rip Tide, directed by Rhiannon Bannenberg (Australia) 4. That.s Not Me, directed by Gregory Erdstein (Australia) 5. Brigsby Bear, directed by Dave McCary (USA) 6..On Body and Soul, directed by Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary) 7. God's Own Country, directed by Francis Lee (UK) 8. Sami Blood, directed by Amanda Kernell (Sweden, Denmark, Norway) 9. The Woman Who Left, directed by Lav Diaz (Philippines) 10. The Wound, directed by John Trengrove (South Africa, Germany, The Netherlands, France) Foxtel Movies Audience Award for Best Documentary Top Ten: 1. Roller Dreams, directed by Kate Hickey (Australia) 2. The Last Goldfish, directed by Su Goldfish (Australia) 3. Chauka Please Tell Us the Time, directed by Behrouz Boochani and Arash Kamali Sarvestani (The Netherlands, Papua New Guinea) 4. The Opposition, directed by Hollie Fifer (Australia) 5. Barbecue, directed by Matthew Salleh (Australia) 6. The Workers Cup, directed by Adam Sobel (UK) 7. Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, directed by Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana (Canada) 8. The Farthest, directed by Emer Reynolds (Ireland) 9. The Pink House, directed by Sascha Ettinger Epstein (Australia) 10. It's Not Yet Dark, directed by Frankie Fenton (Ireland)...
- 6/21/2017
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Laura Poitras’ Julian Assange film, a Jo Cox documentary, and a Walter Murch talk all feature.
UK documentary Sheffield Doc/Fest has unveiled its full 2017 programme.
This year’s closing night event will be the world premiere of Jo Cox: Death Of An MP, a BBC2 documentary that focuses on the investigation of the politician’s murder, including contributions from eye witnesses, Cox’s family, and people who knew her attacker.
As previously announced, the festival will open with a screening of Daisy Asquith’s documentary Queerama, featuring a live Performance From John Grant.
This year’s Doc/Fest grand jury will include American Honey director Andrea Arnold, as well as Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and ex-Channel 4 news broadcaster Paul Mason.
UK premieres in the programme this year include Laura Poitras’ Julian Assange portrait Risk, Whitney Houston doc Whitney: Can I Be Me, Ramona Diaz’s Motherland, Joseph Beuys doc [link...
UK documentary Sheffield Doc/Fest has unveiled its full 2017 programme.
This year’s closing night event will be the world premiere of Jo Cox: Death Of An MP, a BBC2 documentary that focuses on the investigation of the politician’s murder, including contributions from eye witnesses, Cox’s family, and people who knew her attacker.
As previously announced, the festival will open with a screening of Daisy Asquith’s documentary Queerama, featuring a live Performance From John Grant.
This year’s Doc/Fest grand jury will include American Honey director Andrea Arnold, as well as Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and ex-Channel 4 news broadcaster Paul Mason.
UK premieres in the programme this year include Laura Poitras’ Julian Assange portrait Risk, Whitney Houston doc Whitney: Can I Be Me, Ramona Diaz’s Motherland, Joseph Beuys doc [link...
- 5/4/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
The team in the changing room before a big match. Left to right: Kenneth, David, Binumon, Purna, Umesh, Padam. Adam Sobel: 'It was an escape for everybody. A psychological escape and a literal escape from the camp and the daily routine' Photo: Courtesy of The Workers Cup LLC
The fifth edition of the Qatar Workers Cup – a tournament set up for those who are working to build the stadia for the 2022 World Cup – got under way in the country on Friday, with organisers promising it would be “bigger and better than before”. The contest, which runs across the next six weeks, will see 32 teams of immigrant workers, vie for the title on many of the pitches they have constructed.
Ahead of this year’s event the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy director of communications Fatma Al Nuaimi said: “The Sc is proud to be supporting the Workers Cup for...
The fifth edition of the Qatar Workers Cup – a tournament set up for those who are working to build the stadia for the 2022 World Cup – got under way in the country on Friday, with organisers promising it would be “bigger and better than before”. The contest, which runs across the next six weeks, will see 32 teams of immigrant workers, vie for the title on many of the pitches they have constructed.
Ahead of this year’s event the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy director of communications Fatma Al Nuaimi said: “The Sc is proud to be supporting the Workers Cup for...
- 3/1/2017
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Relationships between documentary filmmakers and their subjects must balance access and editorial control, which leaves them walking a line between establishing trust and respecting boundaries. It’s a tricky business.
IndieWire recently asked nonfiction filmmakers behind this year’s Sundance documentary features about the understandings they established with their subjects before they started shooting, and if they considered their stars to be collaborators.
Read More: Fox Searchlight Buys Documentary ‘Step’ For More Than $4 Million — Sundance 2017
Amanda Lipitz “Step” The process started with discussing the idea with the families, especially the mothers of the young women on the step team. We set up a meeting after school one day and all the parents/guardians were invited to attend. I explained my vision of the story, with the emphasis on wanting to tell a positive story about Baltimore, these young women, and what they were trying to accomplish. I absolutely consider them collaborators.
IndieWire recently asked nonfiction filmmakers behind this year’s Sundance documentary features about the understandings they established with their subjects before they started shooting, and if they considered their stars to be collaborators.
Read More: Fox Searchlight Buys Documentary ‘Step’ For More Than $4 Million — Sundance 2017
Amanda Lipitz “Step” The process started with discussing the idea with the families, especially the mothers of the young women on the step team. We set up a meeting after school one day and all the parents/guardians were invited to attend. I explained my vision of the story, with the emphasis on wanting to tell a positive story about Baltimore, these young women, and what they were trying to accomplish. I absolutely consider them collaborators.
- 1/28/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
IndieWire reached out to the filmmakers behind the feature-length narrative and documentary films premiering this week to find out what cameras they used and why they chose them. Here are their responses.
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Sundance Bible – Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
Dramatic Competition & Next
Cory Finley, “Thoroughbred”
Arri Alexa Mini. Panavision G-Series lenses.
The Dp, Lyle Vincent, was very particular about getting a hold of both. They gave us flexibility in shooting and helped create the very precise, high-contrast, and slightly dreamy look we were going for.
Gillian Robespierre, “Landline”
Arri Alexa with some vintage lenses
“Landline” takes place in 1990’s Manhattan. My Dp Chris Teague and I talked a lot about what shooting a period movie from a recent period would look and feel like. Unfortunately, we were not able to shoot on film, and added a texture of LiveGrain during color...
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Sundance Bible – Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
Dramatic Competition & Next
Cory Finley, “Thoroughbred”
Arri Alexa Mini. Panavision G-Series lenses.
The Dp, Lyle Vincent, was very particular about getting a hold of both. They gave us flexibility in shooting and helped create the very precise, high-contrast, and slightly dreamy look we were going for.
Gillian Robespierre, “Landline”
Arri Alexa with some vintage lenses
“Landline” takes place in 1990’s Manhattan. My Dp Chris Teague and I talked a lot about what shooting a period movie from a recent period would look and feel like. Unfortunately, we were not able to shoot on film, and added a texture of LiveGrain during color...
- 1/25/2017
- by Annakeara Stinson and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup, sometimes referred to as “the biggest sporting event in the world,” will be held in Qatar and Adam Sobel’s documentary The Workers Cup tries to give the countless migrant workers in the Gulf state that have been hired for the necessary and pharaonic construction projects a face. Somewhat ironically, the event of the film’s title is a soccer tournament organized by Qatar for the workers who are constructing the stadiums for the World Cup, giving them the possibility to actually practice the sport that their hard work will be glorifying in the future....
- 1/23/2017
- by Boyd van Hoeij
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Highlighting the economies of migrant workers from Nepal, India, Ghana, and Kenya living and working in Qatar as the country prepares for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Adam Sobel’s The Workers Cup highlights the ambitions and dreams of men caught in a form of contract slavery. Working twelve-hour days, seven days a week, a select group of men from the Umm Salal labor camp — a prison-like arrangement of temporary housing–– are chosen to play in The Workers Cup, a tournament sponsored by the same committee organizing the 2022 World Cup.
The men, who are often out of sight and out of mind, are given a voice by American filmmaker Sobel. Quite miraculously, he is permitted to have intimate access to the workers, creating an striking portrait of one team, playing for construction firm Gcc (Gulf Contracting Company). The tournament proves to be rather heartbreaking, especially for Kenneth, a 21-year-old Ghanan with dreams of playing professional football.
The men, who are often out of sight and out of mind, are given a voice by American filmmaker Sobel. Quite miraculously, he is permitted to have intimate access to the workers, creating an striking portrait of one team, playing for construction firm Gcc (Gulf Contracting Company). The tournament proves to be rather heartbreaking, especially for Kenneth, a 21-year-old Ghanan with dreams of playing professional football.
- 1/23/2017
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Adam Sobel’s documentary joins the crews of men constructing the venues to be used in 2022 and shocks its audience with their tales of modern-day slavery
This feels like a particularly diverse year for the voices being heard in Sundance’s documentary programme, and The Workers Cup fills a welcome niche in being an all too rare documentary about Qatar, with the added bonus of featuring charismatic characters spanning the world. It’s also a very successful film about modern day slavery which avoids pitying or patronising its subjects.
There has been widespread disbelief that Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022, with regular reports of terrible working conditions for the construction staff working on the stadiums, who face potential injury or death in building a footballing infrastructure from scratch. Information coming out of Qatar can be limited and confusing, and the chances for independent journalists or film-makers to report accurately can be slim.
This feels like a particularly diverse year for the voices being heard in Sundance’s documentary programme, and The Workers Cup fills a welcome niche in being an all too rare documentary about Qatar, with the added bonus of featuring charismatic characters spanning the world. It’s also a very successful film about modern day slavery which avoids pitying or patronising its subjects.
There has been widespread disbelief that Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022, with regular reports of terrible working conditions for the construction staff working on the stadiums, who face potential injury or death in building a footballing infrastructure from scratch. Information coming out of Qatar can be limited and confusing, and the chances for independent journalists or film-makers to report accurately can be slim.
- 1/21/2017
- by Charlie Phillips
- The Guardian - Film News
The journey to Sundance is an all-consuming endeavor and most filmmakers don’t lift their heads until they land in Park City with their Dcp in hand.
For some filmmakers, this year was different. The election of Donald Trump, which snapped so many into a new reality they hadn’t imagined, came just two weeks before most Sundance directors received their golden ticket to the festival. So we asked this year’s directors: Did the election change how you thought about your film, and your career as a filmmaker?
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Sundance Bible – Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
John Trengove, “The Wound:” The Us election was a big reason why we chose to premiere in Sundance. With race and Lgbt rights being such heated issues in the Us, we thought it would be meaningful to bring a queer film from South Africa, together...
For some filmmakers, this year was different. The election of Donald Trump, which snapped so many into a new reality they hadn’t imagined, came just two weeks before most Sundance directors received their golden ticket to the festival. So we asked this year’s directors: Did the election change how you thought about your film, and your career as a filmmaker?
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Sundance Bible – Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
John Trengove, “The Wound:” The Us election was a big reason why we chose to premiere in Sundance. With race and Lgbt rights being such heated issues in the Us, we thought it would be meaningful to bring a queer film from South Africa, together...
- 1/20/2017
- by Annakeara Stinson and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
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