Taika Waititi’s football movie ‘Next Goal Wins’ has its TIFF premiere
Taika Waititi’s football comedy “Next Goal Wins” will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall, organizers said Wednesday.
Based on a true story, the film Searchlight Pictures stars Michael Fassbender as a Dutch-American soccer coach assigned to help the struggling American Samoa national team in their quest to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. best known at the time for the biggest loss in international football history: a 31-0 match against Australia in 2001.
Waititi and co-writer Iain Morris based the film on a 2014 British documentary of the same name, by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, which captured the attempted comeback. The new film also stars Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss.
“Next Goal Wins” is this year’s first major Hollywood movie to make its claim to the busy fall film festival season, where many studios are debuting with award hopefuls. Waititi’s last film to premiere in Toronto, “Jojo Rabbit”, went on to win the Best Adapted Screenplay award at the Oscars. The 48th edition of TIFF runs from September 7 to September 17.
“We are thrilled to welcome Taika back to the festival and share his bold take on the world’s most popular sport,” Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, said in a statement. “‘Next Goal Wins’ is perfect for TIFF fans of the beautiful game looking to get their soccer fix until the 2024 World Cup arrives.”
Searchlight Pictures will release “Next Goal Wins” in theaters on November 17.
