Silverdocs 2008: 'Kicking It'

"KICKING IT" CHRONICLES the emotional stories of several athletes and teams who have traveled from around the world — from Afghanistan and Ireland to Kenya and the United States — to participate in the 2006 Homeless World Cup of soccer that was held in Cape Town, South Africa.

Directed by local Emmy- and Peabody-winning filmmaker Susan Koch, the documentary is sensitive, intimate and respectful. But even the film's producer, Ted Leonsis, had a hard time wrapping his head around why someone would even have a Homeless World Cup.

"When [Susan] first told me about the idea, I thought it was almost offensive and dumb," Leonsis said. "Homeless people playing soccer? I thought it was exploitive. Then she showed me some of the footage."

The compelling movie combines the drama of sport with the harsh realities of the homeless players, and "Kicking It" is simultaneously suspenseful and educational — without being didactic. It also shows why the Homeless World Cup is actually a good idea: The event gives these down-on-their-luck people a sense of self-worth and purpose as they try to get their lives back together, while also shining a spotlight on the global homeless epidemic.

"Kicking It" screens at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Silverdocs and opens in Washington at the E Street Cinemas on June 27 — which is the same day the U.S. team trials for the 2008 Homeless World Cup start in D.C.

We asked Leonsis — owner of the Washington Capitals and creator of the term "filmanthropy" — to Express 5 things he loved about the making of "Kicking It."

» 1. The people who are portrayed in "Kicking It" are remarkable human beings, and they're people I probably wouldn't have had a chance to know. Until now, basically if I saw a homeless person I'd cross the street, or keep my eyes down and walk by them. But now I've gotten to know two of the characters [Craig Holley, from the U.S. team, and Arkady Tyurin, the Russian coach] very well personally — and it's truly amazing. Your empathy gets re-tuned up very, very high.

» 2. The second thing I learned from the film and the development of the film was the different reasons for homelessness around the world. Who knew in Ireland there was such a big drug epidemic? Or you forget that war is the number one driver of homelessness, which you see in Afghanistan.

» 3. The first thing you notice is that there is great infrastructure to help the homeless — be it shelters, be it food banks, be it organizations like the Homeless World Cup. And I think what's happened, it's almost become passe — [helping the] homeless seems to have been a big thing in the '80s. And I'm hoping this film, and some of the work we're doing around it, helps reignite some of the shining of the light on this subject matter.

» 4. I thought it was wonderful to see these people blossom into really talented athletes. You just don't connect that someone who's homeless could end up being a very, very good soccer player, but it makes sense. The game's a lot like basketball — some of the best players grew up playing on playgrounds. Poor kids who do very well — it's very, very analogous to basketball in inner cities.

» 5. How we've had to balance the whole filmmaking-Sundance-movie-star ethos with people who are homeless. We've had to deal with this subject and these people with authenticity and dignity, and there were times — we were staying in a lodge in Sundance that costs $2,000 a day, and there were these parties with celebrity chefs. And we're there because we've made a movie about homelessness. And I was just very, very conscious to be aware of that conflict.

Photo courtesy Liberation Entertainment