My Cucalorus Experience!!!

This was my first year attending Cucalorus in Downtown Wilmington. I did not know what to expect, for I have never been to any film festival. I really enjoyed myself, however! I went to all of my screenings this past Thursday. Although I saw five very different feature length films, I did have a favorite. The first film I watched was Forever Pure. It was a feature length documentary about Beitar Jerusalem, the leading professional soccer team in Jerusalem. I had not read the description before purchasing my ticket, yet I was pleased with the subject matter. I am a soccer fan, and I happen to love documentaries, so the pair was a match made in heaven. At first, I thought this film was going to tackle surface level soccer rivalries, but it extended so much farther than that. The film dealt with societal issues regarding race and religion, going beyond the soccer field. Beitar Jerusalem's owner decided to draft two Chechen transfers. This sparked outrage amongst La Familia, Beitar Jerusalem's fan base. Israel has always been against Arabs, therefore why would sports be any different. The fan base dissipated, thus the team starting losing during the season. I had hope that the film would end on a happy note, and in a way it did for some players. Ariel Harush, the former captain, went on to become a star player for Beitar Jerusalem's top rival. Ofir Kriaf became the new captain. The new transfers played for other teams. But Beitar's new management said they would never sign another Arab, which infuriated me. Stylistically, the film was extremely well made, and all the B-roll completed the subject matter beautifully. This film reminded me of a film we screened in FST 200 about soccer not only being a sport, but a livelihood in other countries. It is a massive part of some country's society and culture, therefore has major influence on the way people interact with one another.