Pimping Is Easy... When You Do It For Others

We've been surprised at how easy it's been to fill the time as we wait for the return of Euro league football (checks calendar... still a couple of months to wait...). Still we have some days to kill and a dearth of things that are truly lethal.

But we do know that looking at things on screens is fun, which is why you watch matches and read this blog, or at least part of the reason. If only there were some other kind of screen that's not a computer or not a TV, and maybe if that screen had something football related as well.

This is all just a horribly roundabout way of telling you about the inaugural Kicking & Screening Soccer Film Festival, which kicks off (get it) July 14, in New York.

The event is the lovechild of Greg Lalas—brother of Alexi, former Tampa Bay Mutineer, and current scribe for SI and probably some other outlets. We lazily quote from the mass email-as-psuedo-press-release he sent us:

As you all know, soccer has been a part of my life practically since birth. The same is true for many of you, too, I know. To that end, we have designed Kicking & Screening to be a celebration of this beautiful game we all love and its power to unite people. We have movies from around the world, and the events will take place in soccer-friendly bars around New York City.

They even have a totally legit sponsor in the Financial Times. No really.

Anyway, the schedule runs thusly

• Tues, July 14 - "Les Yeux Dans Les Bleus" @ Opia

• Weds, July 15 - "Once in a Lifetime" @ Tribeca Grand Hotel

• Thur, July 16 - "Beckham in America" (panel discussion followed by a viewing party for the Red Bulls-Galaxy game (FREE)) @ Slainte

• Fri, July 17 - "FC Barcelona Confidential" @ Spanish Benevolent Society

• Sat, July 18 - "In the Hands of the Gods" @ Central Bar

If there's a stoppage time showing necessary, it will be on Sunday July 19.

We just made that last bit up.

Most of the titles are self explanatory save for the last, which is the story of five freestyle jugglers who work their way from London to Argentina hoping to meet Diego Maradona. Replace London with Milan and Argentina with Minsk and they totally stole the plot of Rochelle Rochelle.
Also if you've ever wanted to see in person how much Giorgio Chinaglia ballooned up, this is your chance (he is a special guest at the festival).

Tickets for screenings can be purchased in advance at the event's website: http://www.kickingandscreening.com

A portion of the proceeds will go to Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit that raises money via futbol to fight against HIV/AIDS. So watch soccer movies and stop AIDS, sounds like a win-win. Unless you're some extremist fundamentalist who thinks that both soccer and AIDS are punishments for something else, in which case your probably sinning just for reading this. Shame on you.