"Total Football: the Movie"

Here's the story of two brothers, a suburban soccer team in Adelaide, the 2006 World Cup, traditional Australian mateship, a crew of Aussie battlers, and a writer/director who wouldn't give up.

In 2008, Gian Carlo Petraccaro (Carlo) wrote a screenplay about an amateur football team led by two brothers; one the captain, the other the coach. 

They're brothers, but they're very different people.

Charlie, the captain, is preoccupied with winning, and with women.

Lots of women like Charlie...

Not only is Charlie good with women, he's good at soccer football.
 

Up there, Cazaly!

The team members have all the usual problems.

"But I like beer and pizza!"

"Is this work? ... Or football?"

"What about you... Are you a virgin?"

"You said that you weren't going to take this seriously.."

It's not easy to sprint up Montefiore Hill in 40°C [104°F] heat.
 

"I think this might be my last season."

Frank, the coach and team virgin, loves South American football. He is obsessed with sporting purity—the Joga Bonito, the Beautiful Game, Total Football. 

"God has given us mud."

But once it becomes clear that their goal of winning the Cup Final is in jeopardy, Frank crosses to the Dark Side. 

"So, what is it that you do now... You're a... barista?"

 Charlie's nemesis is a big, bad professional footballer, played by Lehmo.

"Do you know what I do?"

Meanwhile, Charlie falls in love, but what's gonna happen when he finds out she's a professional stripper?

"Okay, fifty thousand dollars."

Then the big-money guys start paying attention, betting on the Cup Final, and the likely outcome becomes murkier than ever.

And that's the basic setup to the story. ________________________________________________________________________

Carlo scraped together all the money he had, talked local businesses into supporting him, and gathered a cheap cast and crew. Filming took place in January 2009, during a heat wave. There were problems during post-production, especially money problems, but also some ego problems.

A version of the film, hastily cobbled together, was screened a couple of times at a local art house cinema. Reviews were mixed, and the project descended into some kind of post-development hell.

Three years passed, slowly. Then the producer released the original footage into Carlo's hands, so he could re-cut it the way he planned it.

Now the re-cut film is available. It is one of the few all self-funded films made in South Australia in recent years. No help at all from the SAFC or MRC. 

You can view the film online for $4. Meanwhile, here's a trailer...

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