Homeless World Cup Documentary to Premiere at Sundance
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JANUARY 04, 2008
By Press Release, Homeless World Cup

KICKING IT, the documentary about Homeless World Cup, an international football tournament changing lives, has been selected to World Premiere in the Spectrum category at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah, in January 2008.
KICKING IT, directed by Susan Koch and produced by Ted Leonsis, AOL vice chairman emeritus, is an intimate look at homeless athletes who find a greater goal on the football field as they journey with 48 nations to the Cape Town 2006 Homeless World Cup.
The film chronicles the lives of seven players taking a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country while overcoming poverty and addiction. The players come from war torn Afghanistan, the slums of Kenya, the drug rehab clinics of Dublin, Ireland, the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, the overflowing public shelters of Madrid, Spain, and the shadow culture of the illegal rural immigrants to the big city of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Kat Byles, Media Director, Homeless World Cup said: “That the inspirational story of the Homeless World Cup will be shown first at Sundance is a fitting testimony to the courage, determination and spirit of the players. It is milestone achievement for the Homeless World Cup and one we hope will demonstrate the power of football to change lives to an even bigger audience around the world.”
"Soccer is the world's most popular sport and played in virtually every country around the globe, while homelessness is one of the world's most pervasive problems," said Susan Koch, Director. "When you bring the two together, lives can be transformed. We found extraordinary people who for the first time were given the chance to stand tall and not be invisible."
Koch is an Emmy and Peabody award winning filmmaker. Mario's Story, that Koch Co directed with Jeff Werner, received the Audience Award at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival.. KICKING IT was co-directed and edited by Jeff Werner. Neil Barrett was Director of Photography.
AOL Vice Chairman Emeritus Ted Leonsis, whose first documentary Nanking won one of the major awards at the 2007 Sundance Festival, said of Kicking It, "Films can bring people together, and amplify passion. We are thrilled to help spotlight these compelling individuals – and to show sports' powerful ability to give hope, focus and balance to us all."
The Homeless World Cup, based in Scotland, was founded by one of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, Mel Young, also co-founder of The Big Issue Scotland, International Network of Street Papers and New Consumer Magazine.
For more information visit www.homelessworldcup.org.