Netflix has just debuted the official trailer for Thea Sharrock’s (Me Before You, Wicked Little Letters) British inspirational underdog drama The Beautiful Game.
Directed by Sharrock, from a script by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Sometimes Always Never, The Railway Men), the film stars Bill Nighy (Living, About Time), Micheal Ward (“Top Boy,” Empire of Light, The Book of Clarence), Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes 2), Callum Scott Howells, Kit Young (“Shadow and Bone,” upcoming FX series, “Alien”), and Cristina Rodlo (No One Gets Out Alive, “Halo”). At the heart of the story is Mal (Bill Nighy – Living, About Time), the manager of England’s homeless football team, taking his players to Rome with the hope of being crowned champions of the Homeless World Cup, a global street soccer tournament. At the last minute he decides to bring with them a talented striker Vinny (Micheal Ward, Empire of Light, The Book of Clarence), who could give them a real chance at winning, but only if he’s ready to let go of his past and become part of the team.
With the support of the real-life Homeless World Cup, The Beautiful Game shows how for these players, the road to Rome leads to more than just a trophy.
The film is produced by Blueprint Pictures’ Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin & Ben Knight with Anita Overland and Colin Farrell, and serving as Executive producers are Diarmuid McKeown, Claudine Farrell and Ollie Madden and Daniel Battsek for Film4
The Homeless World Cup Foundation was established in 2001 with the first Homeless World Cup taking place in Graz, Austria in 2003. The Foundation’s mission is to use football to support and inspire people who are homeless to change their own lives; and to change perceptions and attitudes towards people who are experiencing homelessness. The 2024 Homeless World Cup will take place in Seoul, S Korea.
It operates a Global Network, bringing together 70 member countries that are using football to tackle homelessness and social isolation in their community. Providing a focus for – and a celebration of – their year-round activity with the Homeless World Cup, a landmark international street football tournament that, has taken place in cities all over the world such as Cape Town, Cardiff, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Paris, Rio, and Mexico City. The most recent edition took place in Sacramento, California in July 2023. It also supports their Member Countries’ day-to-day work by building international connections, facilitating skill sharing and helping Members to develop. Giving them the tools, skills and platform, they need to change their lives and the lives of those around them.
The Beautiful Game looks poised to score big with audiences seeking an inspirational story when it releases in select UK cinemas from March 22 before going on to release globally on Netflix March 29, 2024.
