Since we're taking liberties around all things "diving" in this issue, let me first address a film about actual diving, as in the sport of acrobatically jumping or falling into water. Le Temps d'un plongeon is a nifty little short that traces the full range of excitement and suspense as a diver prepares for the plunge. Narrated by a real high platform diver and beautifully shot on film, the piece shows images of our protagonist showering, stretching and then preparing for his jump, intercut with footage of kids learning how to dive.

But film buffs and sportos alike will be impressed by the dearth of the festival bill - none of the films treat sport like an opiate for the masses, but instead delve deeply into the cultural and political significance of captivating athletes, like young Cuban boxers in Yann Langevin's Guantanamera Boxe, and big sporting moments, like North Korea's stunning performance in the 1966 soccer World Cup in The Game of Their Lives. There will also be a fair number of local films hitting the big screen, including La Lutte, a candid look into the spectacular and often gruesome world of pro wrestling at the Montreal Forum.

Other films on the 18-film bill include a historic - and bloody - water polo match between two warring nations called Freedom's Fury, and Offside, a cheeky film about Iranian women soccer fans. Don't miss the opening of the fest, a live komball (freestyle soccer) performance on June 20. The fest runs from June 20 to 24 at the Cinémathèque Québécoise (1595 St-Denis). For more info, go to www.lalucarne.ca.

 
 

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Sport on the Screen     I think this festival is a great idea, especially because they choose different films about different sports which we would probably never have access to otherwise. This year there's the documentary about Zidane which sounds very good, and the fiction film Offside, which is an excellent film about sports and society. It's not your ordinary commercial feature film about sports. I just would love if they could screen french-language films with English subtitles...
Ludmila Carvalho	{24 votes}	June 15th, 2007
Neato     For some of us, we will not be seeing films at our pathetic World Film Festival ( unless a miracle occurs and they schedule better films this year...)so we have to make do with Fantasia and series at the Cinematheque like this. Personally I will be seeing Offside based on the great review posted by Julie Miller as well as The Game of their Lives which I have always wanted to see. It will also be a nice change from the other great sports films like Rudy, Field of Dreams, Eight Men Out, Bull Durham, Friday Night Lights, Varsity Blues (!!!!) and other personal favorites!
Reuven De Souza	{24 votes}	June 14th, 2007

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