One of the favorite debates of people in the worlds of art and sport (apart from who gets more government funding) is whether sport is “culture” or not. There are sound arguments favoring both sides, but the jury is still out.
Over the years, Black Nights has featured sports-related films, but for the first time we are introducing a special programme that combines the art of cinema and sport. Through this lens, we see that indeed there is such a thing as sports culture. This programme includes moving stories about how sport touches and changes people’s lives and how important athletic achivements (not always expressible in medals and wins) are for athletes, fans, the media or entire nations.
In the programme is a homage to the king of sports, football, as seen through a small but successful world power in the sport, Denamrk; we profile one of the 20th century’s most famous long-distance runner -- the first African gold medalist Abebe Bikila and his drama-filled life; and take a look at the amateur level as well, laughing with a handful of Finnish men (a good point to recall that Finland is theis year’s festival focus) as they experience the joys and tribulations of Sunday sport.
This is the right programme for anyone who has an appreciaton for sport or wants a better understanding of athletes and sports fans.
Kristo Tohver
