Football, Film, Fun, and Focus

I wanted to post a final note about this past week’s Kicking & Screening Soccer Film Festival held June 1-5 in New York City.

Kudos goes to the founders of the event, Rachel Markus and Greg Lalas, the staff of experts including Annie Vinton, Elicia Banks-Gabriel, and Lena Kass, the volunteers and the sponsors for putting on such a great event. And of course, the filmmakers, panelists and the hundreds of attendees!


They did a remarkable job putting on an event that was about football, film and fun. And in putting together those 3 elements, we got a chance for some focus, focus on loyalty to and passion for our favorite team and where we are from; focus on the obvious, and subtle, short and long-term impact of war on societies and individuals; focus on the power of football/sport to help us persevere through the toughest of situations and to bring families together; and a focus on international relations and respect. The Festival’s feature films and documentaries, and the related panel discussions, brought all of these to us in a way that was highly entertaining.

Last week was special and as we embark on a month of revelry, joy, camaraderie, and inevitable disappointment (only one team can with the World Cup!) I know that I go into it with a much better focus when it comes to the power of football to make life just a bit better for individuals, communities, countries, and our global society. I thank Kicking & Screening and all of the filmmakers for that.

Hope to see you at Kicking & Screening 2011!!