Football is the backdrop for feel good film set in Africa, “Africa United”
Football is a worldwide phenomenon and the World Cup is the pinnacle event in the sport. The sport of football’s World Cup represents a lot of things to a lot of people. It can mean a change in their lives, it can be a motivating factor, it can remove them
from poverty and it can bring families together.
In a new film about football and Africa, it brings the hopes and dreams of a bunch of young African children to life. In the critically acclaimed new film about Africa and football, Africa United, we get a glimpse into how the beautiful game can inspire
people all over the World.
The new film, which gets its release later this month, is a story about five young Rwandan children, who try to walk all the way to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The story has football at its heart and even though fictional, it brings to light the
love of football and the lengths some people will go to for their favourite sport.
Various comparisons have been made to the recent blockbuster hit independent film, Slumdog Millionaire, but both are unique films with differing storylines.
Africa United is a story about a young football prodigy, who is trying to get noticed by scouts. He, along with a friend of his, decide that the best way to showcase the young footballer’s talents is to make their way down to South Africa from Rwanda and
try to take part in the Opening Ceremony of the World Cup.
The film features an unknown cast, a first time scriptwriter and a first time director, Debs Gardner-Paterson. But together, this unlikely team has managed to create a moving and heartwarming film about friendship, life in Rwanda and the glue that binds
it all together, football.
The story features numerous twists and turns and interesting developments and is essentially a film about growing up in Africa and living in a country that still bears the scars of genocide.
The film caught the attention of some high ups in FIFA, who absolutely loved the idea and the story. They thought it was a great way to promote Africa and the people of this vibrant continent. They gave their full backing to the project, gave access to the
filmmakers to the Opening Ceremony and also set up a football match with Comic Relief for charity.
It was a great advertisement for FIFA and the World Cup because it showed a different side to Africa and its people and did not try to preach or dictate to its audience. FIFA is an organisation that does a great deal for its member countries and tries to
set up developmental projects all over the World.
This film was a good way for them to get the word out and was a different way to get some publicity for the biggest sporting event on the planet.
The interesting thing about this story was the fact that the director was approached by many people while filming in Rwanda, who asked her not to make just another film about the genocide that occurred there or the poverty, so in the end a coming of age
road trip movie fit the bill for all involved.
The producers were able to tackle issues such as the AIDS epidemic, poverty and racism all with a light hearted feel. It was easy to do this with a football film because of the ubiquitous nature of the sport all over the World. Football is easy to relate
to, easy to follow and makes for some of the best stories in the World.
The aim of this movie is to promote the good side of Africa, to show it from a new angle and to use football to appeal to a wide audience. It seems a lot of children have the same dream that the five main characters of the film have, to go and be a part
of the World Cup. So the central idea of the film will resonate with young people today and they will absorb the message of the film easily. We should all support high quality films such as Africa United for the reason that it is using a story about a sport
to bring about a small change in the World.
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