The Cinefoot Film Festival Plays Rio: Daily

By Anna Kaiser, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The fourth annual Cinefoot Film Festival will be held in Rio de Janeiro May 23rd through 28th in various locations throughout the city. The event features free screenings of both short and full-length films about Latin America’s most beloved game: football (soccer) in four separate theaters located in Rio’s North, South, Center and West zones.

Films from Brazil, the United States, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Portugal, Sweden, Poland, France and more will be showcased, providing fans of the beautiful game with multilingual viewing options. One short and one full-length film will be crowned the festival’s best at the end of the week.

To many in Brazil and Latin America, football is more than just a game. The Cinefoot festival examines all aspects of the sport, ranging from films covering the history of specific teams, women in football to the World Cup, as well as football relations during the dictatorships of Latin America in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

An English-language option is “Pelada,” an American-made documentary about two college football stars who do not make it into professional soccer, but continue to chase football around the world.

With the World Cup approaching in just over a year, football is on everyone’s mind in Brazil. Cinefoot showcases two films about World Cup history, in addition to a film about Aldeia Maracanã, the indigenous squatter community that was relocated due to its proximity to the World Cup stadium.

The Cinefoot Festival will take place in four locations: The Espaço Itaú in Botafogo in Zona Sul (South Zone), the Centro Cultural Justiça Federal in Centro, Ponto Cine in Guadalupe in the North Zone and Cinemão in Cidade de Deus and Manguinhos in the West Zone and runs from mid-afternoon until the evening every day until Tuesday. Check the Cinefoot website for exact locations and schedules.

After its debut in Rio, the festival will move on to São Paulo.

Read more (in Portuguese)

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