Streetball follows the lives of eight South African guys who are homeless - ex-convicts, former gangsters, orphans - and who find themselves in a position of representing their country through sport, in the 2008 and 2009 Homeless World Cup soccer games.
Rather than me telling you all about it, you can view the trailer for yourself:
What struck me the most about the film was its ability to powerfully convey universal human truths - our innate desire to find our place in this world, the desire to be loved and accepted, the desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves - through the voice of the homeless, who often do not have a voice in society and certainly not one that is openly heard.
In the film, we watch as these guys train for the Homeless World Cup, develop friendships and are inspired to change their lives. We watch as they travel to Melbourne, Australia and then to Milan, Italy to meet and play against other soccer teams from other countries - all of them also homeless, all of them also representing their countries, all of them in this together through sport.
Photo from Streetball Personal Stories
I am particularly moved by the film because it was created by a crew of two 25 year olds. One of them is my amazing friend and former colleague, Tina Ghubril, who only two years ago began working on this project after leaving our company. Watching her labor of love on the big screen made me so utterly proud of her. She is truly changing the world. She has inspired me to do the same.
On my way home from dinner, I did something that I often do - I gave my leftovers to a homeless person on the street. But tonight, I looked the person in the eye, smiled and said, "How are you doing?"
Photo from Streetball Personal Stories
Thank you, Tina and Demetrius, for helping me to see a perspective that I never would have had the courage to see on my own. Thank you also for giving me a bit more faith in humanity and more importantly, a bit more faith in myself.
Streetball is sponsored by From Us With Love, a nonprofit organization that uses football (soccer) as a means of involving children and youth that live, work and sleep on the streets in positive activities that will assist them in moving off the streets to better lives. In the Q&A panel tonight, it was very apparent that From Us With Love is in need of funds and resources to sustain their program. Please visit their website to learn about how you can get involved or to contact them to offer your services.
And again, definitely check out the film at the NY African Film Festival on Tuesday at 1pm or in future film festivals. It truly is a masterpiece.
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