‘This Is Football’: sport as a mirror of the human condition

The world's most popular sport as a mirror of the human condition. This is the idea producer Raimon Masllorens had three years ago that is now the documentary series ‘This Is Football.’

Written by journalist and author, John Carlin, the six-episode series filmed in 18 countries is scheduled to premiere on the Amazon Prime Video platform in 200 countries on August 2.

Behind the international co-production are such unlikely partners as the Starbucks coffee shop chain and Hollywood director and producer, Joe Roth, among others. 

The series aims to reveal the elements of the human condition that are to be found in football, the world's great “lingua franca,” according to Carlin. 

An example is the capacity of the sport to bring people together and contribute to national reconciliation, as can be seen in the episode about how Rwanda overcame genocide.

"Hope," "belief" and "love" are among the concepts explored by each episode in the series that began with Masllorens' Brutal Media production company.

From Starbucks to Amazon

The project took off once Starbucks got involved, and with the involvement of the UK's October Films and Roth, video giant Amazon decided to buy the series.

The episodes are directed by a team of directors and producers headed by director James Erksine (‘One night in Turin’, ‘Le Mans: Racing is Everything’) and producer Jos Cushing. 

Meanwhile, the soundtrack was created by Lorne Balfe, Grammy winner and Emmy nominee for ‘Mission Impossible,’ ‘The Queen’ and ‘Churchill.’

Filmed in 18 countries in 18 months (from Iceland to Argentina, via Spain, Rwanda and the US), each episode explores a different aspect of the human condition.

An example is the episode named 'Redemption,' which shows the role of football in helping with the reconstruction of Rwanda following the genocide.

“We didn't want to be political or educational, we chose Rwanda because it's an extreme case of football's power to unite people with plenty of reasons to hate each other," says Carlin.