FRANCE: SOCCER - BRAZILIAN FOOTBALLER PELE IN CANNES AHEAD OF THE WORLD PREMIERE OF A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HIS LIFE.

Record ID: 251171

  • Title: FRANCE: SOCCER - BRAZILIAN FOOTBALLER PELE IN CANNES AHEAD OF THE WORLD PREMIERE OF A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HIS LIFE.
  • Date: 17th May 2005
  • Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. AERIAL 2. BEACH FRONT 3. FLAGS OUTSIDE PALAIS DU FESTIVAL 4. LA CROISETTE 5. EXTERIOR OF PALAIS DU FESTIVAL CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 17, 2005) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 6. VARIOUS OF PELE ARRIVING 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PELE SAYING: "I am very proud to be in Cannes because this is to talk about my life, it is a film about my life. I came here two or three times. The first time was with Francois Reichenbach, he was a director and producer, and he passed away. Then I came with John Huston, one of the best directors in the world. And now I come with my life, this is very important for me." 8. PELE BEING INTERVIEWED 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PELE SAYING: "My father used to say 'men should be strong, men don't cry'. Then I saw my father cry when Brazil lost a game. I told (him) 'father, don't worry, I'm gonna win the World Cup for you'. I was nine to 10 years old. Then eight years later I was in Sweden with Brazil, with the 17-year-olds and Brazil won the World Cup. That was a gift from God because I don't know why I said, I promised my father. This is the very emotion in the film, that history. But I have other moments, very important (ones). When we travelled, when we stopped the war in Africa. Santos was playing in Africa and to see Santos and Pele play, they stopped the war in Kinshasa. This is very important. Another important, and this is something I'm very proud of, was when I started to play, my first World Cup, I saw the other teams, other national teams and I didn't see black people there. And I saw the only black people were in the Brazilian team, and I asked, why? I was very surprised because it was my first travel outside Brazil." 10. PELE SPEAKING TO REPORTER Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 1st June 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CANNES, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Reuters ID: LVAEAG7F0RZNV6XURZTTNI01SAQT
  • Story Text: Brazilian football legend Pele arrives in Cannes
    ahead of the world premiere of a documentary about his life.



    Soccer films have stormed the Cannes Festival this
    year with cinematic interest in the world's most popular
    sport reaching fever pitch ahead of the 2006 World Cup.

    Filmmakers have found it difficult in the past to
    capture the thrills of the game, the energy of packed
    stadiums or to re-enact memorable scenes. But football's
    expanding international popularity has prompted them to
    have another go.

    Soccer has found its way into dramas, documentaries and
    comedies at Cannes.

    Brazilian football legend Pele, arriving in Cannes on
    Tuesday (May 17) for the world premiere of a documentary
    about his life 'Pele Forever', said he did not know why it
    had taken so long to get the 'beautiful game' into cinemas.

    "It's amazing and I've discussed the question many
    times -- in Brazil, football is the top sport but we never
    have any films about it," Pele told Reuters.

    Films at Cannes include 'Real, The Movie', a
    documentary-style film mixed with drama about Real Madrid,
    along with Spanish comedies 'The Longest Penalty in the
    World' and 'Romeo and Juliet Get Married', a strained
    marriage between a Barcelona fan and a Real Madrid
    supporter. Two recent films were big commercial successes.

    Britain's 'Bend it Like Beckham' about a girl who idolises
    David Beckham and goes against her traditional family to
    play soccer and Sonke Wortmann's 'The Miracle of Bern'
    about West Germany winning the 1954 World Cup against long odds.

    Pele, who featured with Michael Caine in the 1981
    soccer film 'Escape to Victory', suggested Beckham was a
    factor in the new cinematic interest in football.

    Soccer also plays a supporting role in several films at
    the festival. 'Joyeux Noel' (Merry Christmas) features a
    scene where British, French and German soldiers play a
    match in the no-man's land between their trenches during
    the World War One Christmas truce.

    Other football films at Cannes include 'She's the Man',
    about a teenage girl who pretends to be a boy to play on
    the school soccer team and 'Now and Forever', about a 1949
    plane crash that killed an Italian soccer team.

    'The Great Match' relates the struggles of three fans
    to watch the 2002 World Cup final in remote regions and
    'The Game of their Lives' tells how the United States beat
    England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup.

    There are also several soccer-themed films in the works.

    'Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait' is being put together
    from film from 15 cameras that followed midfielder Zinedine
    Zidane for an entire Real Madrid match. It includes shots
    from two high-definition zoom cameras only used by the U.S.

    military.

    Pele told Reuters on Tuesday that he was proud to be in
    Cannes for the film about his life.

    "My father used to say 'men should be strong, men don't
    cry'. Then I saw my father cry when Brazil lost a game. I
    told (him) 'father, don't worry, I'm gonna win the World
    Cup for you'. I was nine to 10 years old. Then eight years
    later I was in Sweden with Brazil, with the 17-year-olds
    and Brazil won the World Cup. That was a gift from God
    because I don't know why I said, I promised my father. This
    is the very emotion in the film, that history. But I have
    other moments, very important (ones). When we travelled,
    when we stopped the war in Africa. Santos was playing in
    Africa and to see Santos and Pele play, they stopped the
    war in Kinshasa. This is very important. Another important,
    and this is something I'm very proud of, was when I started
    to play, my first World Cup, I saw the other teams, other
    national teams and I didn't see black people there. And I
    saw the only black people were in the Brazilian team, and I
    asked, why? I was very surprised because it was my first
    travel outside Brazil."

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