Two rebels to inaugurate the film festival

The Thinking Football Film Festival, organized by the Athletic Club Foundation and Sala BBK, will be inaugurated with the presence of two of the protagonists of the opening film ‘Football rebels’. Present at this screening will be, in addition to the film’s director Gilles Rof, the football players Predrag Pašić and Rachid Mekhloufi, prominent figures thanks to their social commitment.

Predrag Pašić is an international football player with the Yugoslavia national team who, during the Balkan war, instead of leaving Sarajevo, as did most professional football players, decided to stay behind and open a multi-ethnic football academy for boys and girls. The academy, called Bubamara, is still open, and works in favour of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.

Rachid Mekhloufi, on the other hand, was one of the key figures of the French national football team summoned for the 58 World Cup. However, he decided to leave France and join the non-official FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front), to help heighten awareness of Algeria’s independence during the war. The top scorer in the history of the French team Saint Etienne, Mekhloufi was also Algeria’s manager in the 1982 World Cup, which went out in the match after the famous match in Gijon between Germany and Austria, in which both national teams supposedly reached an agreement as to the final outcome.

‘Football rebels’ will be projected on Monday the 29th, at 19:00 hours in Sala BBK, with free entry while until filling capacity. After the film, attendees will be able to engage in dialog with the film director and the football players.