THE GAME

A whistle. The stands of the stadium get loud. The players protest angrily. The presenters follow the action on the field. In the middle of it, the referee. The whole stadium watches him. Now he has to decide and direct the energy of an entire stadium.

ROMAN HODEL

Studied at the Video Department of the Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU) and works as filmmaker and cinematographer. His short film BLUELIGHT (2014, co-directed with Lena Mäder) premiered at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and THE GAME celebrates its world premiere at the 77 La Biennale di Venezia.

The referee has the power to decide over yellow or red card, penalty or no penalty. His judgement can make the difference between victory and defeat. Within a heartbeat he can turn into a tragic figure forced to withhold the rage of an entire stadium. It was my intention to show the person who takes those decisions. Therefore I took a glimpse behind the curtains of a soccer game in an informative but endearing way. By closing in on family relationships and on player-referee interactions, the film allows the audience to experience the sheer unbearable pressure of a referee while getting to know the person under the referee jersey: Fedayi San — a human being with fears and doubts.

• Venice Film Festival / Italy
• TIFF / Canada
• IDFA / Netherlands
• Hamptons International Film Festival / USA — Best Short Documentary
• Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur / Switzerland — Special Mention
• Sulmona International Film Festival / Italy — Best Documentary Short & Best Editing
• Cairo International Film Festival / Egypt — Special Jury Award
• Vilnius International Short Film Festival / Lithuania
• True/False / USA
• ZagrebDox / Croatia 

DOKer 2021 — Short Competition

The screening is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Russia, Moscow