|
eFlicker.net
|
Various aspects of table football have been captured on a number of DVDs that have been made available in recent weeks.
Clifford Borg-Marks' documentary 'The Hobby' is now obtainable on DVD format, having previously been shown at the prestigious "International Sport Movies and TV Festival" held in Milan, Italy last October - where it was awarded the Guirlande d'Honneur, the top prize in its category - and also in a continuous loop as part of the "Flick to Kick" Subbuteo exhibition in Tunbridge Wells last summer.
It has also been invited to participate in the Russian International Festival of Sport Films "Krasnogorski", to be held in Moscow in June 2006.
The film's promotional literature describes it as a “cinematic voyage through the world of Subbuteo past and present: from its origins in England to its spread to continental Europe, from a hardy band of players in America to pioneering efforts in China, from the challenges posed by video games to the heights of World Cup action.”
And with a lack of significant commercial sponsorship or regular media attention, it looks at what the future may hold for the game – ”will middle-aged nostalgia and the boundless enthusiasm of a few avid players be enough to secure a future for Subbuteo at all?”
Interviews with many of the world's top players, including Delogne, De Francesco, Mattiangeli, Nastasi, Bolognino, are included and Enrico Tecchiati talks about the manufacture of equipment to enable the game to survive.
A limited number of DVDs are now available online from Yansun Creatures Limited, via the documentary's website - for $20 - and other select sites. FISTF will also have some copies to sell in due course.
The DVD is in Pal (Zone "0") format, and cannot be viewed using NTSC hardware. The film has a running time of 78 minutes and features original music composed by former World champion Gil Delogne.
Meanwhile Worthing Fivestar player Matt Hopkins has made a short documentary about Subbuteo, entitled "For the Love of the Game", as part of his university Media Studies degree.
The 30-minute production features a brief history of the game, footage of the Tunbridge Wells exhibition, interviews with various personalities involved with the game and coverage of the Fivestar players before and during last September's Worthing National Open.
Copies are available for £5 plus postage and packaging.
And in Denmark, the Lega-Liga have produced 4 DVDs, covering a series of major tournaments in 2005 from a Danish perspective. The disks feature the Berliner Bären Pokal and Berlin Grand Prix (same DVD), the Norway Grand Prix, the Mødling Open and the World Cup in Belgium.
The World Cup version costs 15 euros and the others are 10 euros each.
Free to view footage is now also appearing on the internet.
The newly formed Worcester River Plate Severn club in Western England have posted film of various matches - albeit played to non-FISTF rules - on the Google Video service, whilst the American Subbuteo Association's site is in the process of building an online video collection.
So far, one half of the game between Massimo Conturso and Shorab at last year's international events in Maryland has been uploaded, but further clips will follow.
Links and contacts:
"The Hobby" DVD - http://www.thehobby.tv/
"For the Love of the Game" DVD - Matt Hopkins at matthewhopkins188@hotmail.com
Lega-Liga DVD series - http://www.legaliga.com/lega-liga%20dvd%20sale.htm
Worcester River Plate Severn TFC online videos - http://www.wrp7video.blogspot.com/
ASA online video - http://www.americansubbuteo.com/Default.aspx?tabid=234
Please mention eFlicker when making any purchases.
Got News? E-mail us at flicker1995@yahoo.co.uk