Nerea Ortiz: "If Athletic is much more than football, so is its film festival"

The 13th edition of the Thinking Football Film Festival kicked off yesterday at the Sala BBK Hall with the long-awaited European premiere of ‘Saipan’. The documentary recounts the famous clash between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy during Ireland’s training camp ahead of the 2002 World Cup. Coming to Europe after its success in Toronto, the screening filled the Sala BBK Hall and was followed by a Q&A with directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn.

Prior to the screening of the film, Vanessa Fernández, on behalf of EITB, presented the Thinking Football 2024 Audience Award to the directors of 'COPA 71', Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine.

Athletic Club's vice-president, Nerea Ortiz, was in charge of delivering the inaugural speech of this 13th edition of Thinking. "If Athletic is much more than a football club, so is its festival. That is why we wanted to choose Nabila's photograph as this year's image. A girl footballer from Pakistan who uses the ball as a tool to collectively fight for women's rights. Someone commented to us that the poster was "not very Athletic". How wrong he was. Nabila is Athletic, as is the act of solidarity with the Palestinian people that we experienced last Saturday in San Mamés. An act of solidarity and a cry for humanity and peace".

At the end of the colloquium, Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn, the film's director couple, dedicated some emotional words to Athletic Club: "We have felt all that energy between the club and the community. At Athletic there are things that are more important than money. There is a very special ethic and love".

 Second day of Thinking Football Film Festival

Today, Tuesday October 7, the festival’s schedule intensifies with four screenings that explore different perspectives on football, from collective memory to the sport’s transformative power, with the special participation of Liverpool Sammy Lee and Andy Wells, director of the film ‘Two Tribes’.

The day will start at 11:00 with the screening of ‘Copa 71’ -winner of last year’s Thinking Football’s Audience Award-, the first of the two special morning sessions organized by the Athletic Club Foundation for local schools. The second special morning session will take place on Friday, with the screening of 'Tigrar', winner of the 2022 Audience Award, on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day.

In the afternoon, at 18:00, the festival will take audiences on a different kind of journey. First, 'Stuck On You: The Football Sticker Story’' will explore the fascinating culture of football stickers, a phenomenon that has shaped generations and remains a childhood ritual and a passion for collectors worldwide. Immediately after, the new episode of the ‘Greenland’ series, this time dedicated to Venice, will premiere. This visually striking piece reflects on how football can engage in dialogue with art, history and cultural identity in one of the most unique cities on the planet.

The highlight of the day will arrive at 20:00 with ‘Two Tribes’, a documentary that revisits Liverpool in the 1980s, when the city’s economic decline coincided with the sporting triumphs of its two clubs, Everton and Liverpool. The film explores how football and politics became intertwined in a turbulent decade, and how the rivalry between the two teams also became a mirror of social realities. The screening will feature two special guests: Sammy Lee and Andy Wells, who will share their first-hand experiences with the audience.