NICE PEOPLE

In only a few years over 3000 Somalis have been added to the population of Borlänge. Mc Donalds is now refereed to as “Little Mogadishu”. The integration is tough. Borlänge has suffered a few industrial blows and unemployment is high. Support for the National Swedish Party (Sverigedemokraterna) is high. Local journalist and jack of many trades Patrik Andersson spends an evening at the pub with some friends talking about what can be done. They conclude that the locals love their football and they love their Bandy. Why not use sport as a bridge to get people closer to each other. Why not start the Somali national team in Bandy in Borlänge.

The film is about a group of young men who have fled the war in Somalia, ended up in Sweden and determined to make it all the way to Siberia. The road there will be bumpy, but knowing that they will be standing on the ice, singing along to their national anthem, playing for their country, gives them the strength to carry on. It´s a story about racism, about fear. But it´s also an inspirational story about bravely doing something that hasn´t been done before. We will cry and we will laugh as we follow the team on their way to Siberia and (spoiler alert) when they score their first goal. The two renowned journalists Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson follow the intense, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes very comedic struggle to get the team ready for the championship.

FILM CREW / CREDITS

Directed by: Karin af Klintberg, Anders Helgeson
Screenplay: Filip Hammar, Fredrik Wikingsson, Karin af Klintberg, Anders Helgeson
Production: Thelma/Louise Produktion AB, Mexiko Media (Stoccolma)
Producer: Lars Beckung
Editing: Anders Helgeson, David Andersson, Richard Rost
Director of photography: Simon Rudholm, Erik Persson, Erik Vallsten, André Lindholm, Lukas Eisenhauer, Gabriel Mkrttchian, Caj Müller
International sales: GA&A Films
Running time: 96’
Country: Svezia
Year: 2015

Contacts: Laura Romano – GA&A Films
e-mail: laura.romano@gaea.it