Sons of Sakhnin
Roger Bennett, co-author of Bar Mitzvah Disco, founder of Reboot Stereophonic, and all-around new school judeo-cultural superman let us hold a screener of Sons of Sakhnin, the new documentary he produced on a year in the life of Beni Sakhnin, the lone Arab soccer team in the Israeli premiership. The film debuts this Thursday night at the Tibeca Film Festival, and we are giving it our highest possible recommendation.
To be a hundred percent honest, since Roger is our man, we would have tried to give up some love even if Sakhnin was borderline, but fortunately it is excellent. It is hard to imagine a film that would tap deeper into the No Mas sportscultural vein. Sakhnin casts new and interesting light on the greatest political, cultural, and religious struggle of our time, while simultaneously giving up all the David vs. Goliath sports documentary goodness we require. Basically we are in the territory of Bad News Bears meets "From Beirut to Jerusalem", which is some pretty rarified air.
In 2005, Sakhnin, a mixed team of Arabs, Israelis and foreginers shocked the soccer world by winning the Israeli premeireship against extremely long odds. Considering their paltry budget, ramshackle stadium and practice facilities, Sakhnin is basically a single A team competing in a major league market. This, coupled with the hatred the team faces from hardline leaning supporters of the other Israeli clubs, made their victory a true cinderella story and a watershed moment for Israel's 1.5 million Arab population--not the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza, but the actual Israeli citizens--a group whose nebulous status and complicated identity is one of the lesser known realities of Arab-Israeli life that Sakhnin exposes.
Sons of Sakhnin follows the 2005-2006 season, as the defending champions, led by captain Abbas Suan (who most definitely deserves some kind of award from the Jackie Robinson foundation), struggle to avoid a relegation from the premeireship that would be disastrous for the club and devastating for its supporters. We are a little early for a full review, and we don't want to spoil too much of it anyway, so let's make it simple. I hate to get all Gene Shalit on you, but if you are in New York during the festival, go see this movie. It is excellent and deserves your attention and support.
Roger has given us a short preview clip, which shows Sakhnin fans praying for their team before a key match:
Tickets are still available including walkups for the premeire, 7:30 this Thursday night at AMC 34th street.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This post is part of our ongoing partnership with The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival which runs from April 25 to May 26 right here in NYC.
To be a hundred percent honest, since Roger is our man, we would have tried to give up some love even if Sakhnin was borderline, but fortunately it is excellent. It is hard to imagine a film that would tap deeper into the No Mas sportscultural vein. Sakhnin casts new and interesting light on the greatest political, cultural, and religious struggle of our time, while simultaneously giving up all the David vs. Goliath sports documentary goodness we require. Basically we are in the territory of Bad News Bears meets "From Beirut to Jerusalem", which is some pretty rarified air.
In 2005, Sakhnin, a mixed team of Arabs, Israelis and foreginers shocked the soccer world by winning the Israeli premeireship against extremely long odds. Considering their paltry budget, ramshackle stadium and practice facilities, Sakhnin is basically a single A team competing in a major league market. This, coupled with the hatred the team faces from hardline leaning supporters of the other Israeli clubs, made their victory a true cinderella story and a watershed moment for Israel's 1.5 million Arab population--not the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza, but the actual Israeli citizens--a group whose nebulous status and complicated identity is one of the lesser known realities of Arab-Israeli life that Sakhnin exposes.
Sons of Sakhnin follows the 2005-2006 season, as the defending champions, led by captain Abbas Suan (who most definitely deserves some kind of award from the Jackie Robinson foundation), struggle to avoid a relegation from the premeireship that would be disastrous for the club and devastating for its supporters. We are a little early for a full review, and we don't want to spoil too much of it anyway, so let's make it simple. I hate to get all Gene Shalit on you, but if you are in New York during the festival, go see this movie. It is excellent and deserves your attention and support.
Roger has given us a short preview clip, which shows Sakhnin fans praying for their team before a key match:
Tickets are still available including walkups for the premeire, 7:30 this Thursday night at AMC 34th street.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This post is part of our ongoing partnership with The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival which runs from April 25 to May 26 right here in NYC.
2 Comments:
I'm going to be waiting for this movie.
Hello,
The team did not win the championship in 2005 but the State Cup in 2004.
S. Matthews
Post a Comment
<< Home