Event

Jock Docs Presents: Hooligans & Ultras

Monday, April 1st, 7:30pm
Jock Docs Presents: Hooligans & Ultras
(A look at the passion of the soccer fan in a nod to the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil. "Hooligans & Ultras" is an ongoing spring series.)
Curated by Hatuey Rodriguez and Vincent Puljiz

Football's Fight Club
Gareth Williams, 2002, 49 min, England
As unlikely as it may seem now, there was a time in which football in Britain was not only unpopular, but was in real danger of going out of existence completely, due to one main factor: hooliganism. Every matchday, thousands of thugs fought on terraces throughout the country in an ugly battle which threatened the safety of innocent supporters, and led to a number of deaths. Football's Fight Club tells the story of how football violence spread to become an unwanted part of our national game. Football violence started to grow in the early 1970s, after the introduction of the 'football special', a scheme which enabled thousands of volatile fans and hooligans to travel cheaply by train around the country on matchdays. This combination of football, fighting and alcohol provided an exhilarating day out for fans, and the violence repeated itself around the country, week after week. Quickly, hooliganism attained a culture of its own, and despite the destruction that they caused, the thugs were content with enjoying themselves in this way. The seriousness of their actions, though, only started to become apparent when the first murder at a football match took place in 1974.

FC United: A Punk Football Fairy Tale
Daniel Colbourne, 2013, 35 min, England
A film about the past, present and future of FC United of Manchester. Formed in 2005, the club were promoted three times in their first three seasons. They now play their football in the Evo-Stik Premier Division. They are a club run by the fans, for the fans.

Skype Q&A with director Daniel Colbourne