David Oyelowo on Soccer Film ‘Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story,’ Clip Released (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Jennie Punter The producers of “Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story,” which follows a nail-biting stretch in the Dalkurd soccer club’s pivotal 13th season, have released a clip (below) in advance of the film’s world premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival, which kicks off April 27.

Dalkurd was founded in 2004 by Kurdish refugees in Sweden as an activity for Kurdish youth in a working-class town. The team immediately and swiftly rose through the country’s professional soccer ranks, its unprecedented success attracting media attention in Europe and abroad—despite notably lackluster local attendance—and making the team a symbol of victory and unity for Kurdish people around the world.

In the film, Dalkurd, whose multinational roster includes Kurdish and Swedish players, needs one more win in order to clinch its first-ever spot in Allsvenskan, the top tier of the Swedish soccer league system.

Kurdish Canadian director Kordo Doski—who has a personal connection to both the sport and region where the film was made— tracks the on and off-pitch lives of co-captains Rawez Lawan and Peshraw “Pasha” Azizi, and also reveals the complex character of the club and its community, and the impact of the Kurdish people’s political struggles on the team’s Kurdish players. “When ‘Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story’ landed on our desks, we not only felt the heart of this beautiful story, but also immediately recognized the familiarity of the obstacles facing the Dalkurd team,” executive producer David Oyelowo told Variety last week. “The natural charisma of Rewan (Amin), Rawez, and Pasha and how they and the rest of the team came across on screen truly tugged on the heartstrings for us, personally.