Sunday Ball

Eryk Rocha’s Sunday Ball focuses on a 14-team annual soccer championship among favela teams in Rio de Janeiro. Set in the Sampaio neighborhood (close to the Maracanã Stadium, where the 2014 World Cup final was held), the film brings audiences up-close to a final match between two rival teams. By rejecting the talking-heads approach and embracing the rhythms of the game, Sunday Ball offers a kinetic and utterly absorbing cinematic experience.