By Faizal Khan
Cannes, May 16 (UNI) With the FIFA World Cup only weeks away, football frenzy has gripped the Cannes Film Festival.
Two documentaries about football are a key highlight of the official selection at the Cannes festival, which has a strong tradition of programming movies on football to coincide with major tournaments.
At the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which kicked off on May 12, a new feature documentary on the historic quarter final match between Argentina and England at the 1986 Mexico World Cup is part of the Cannes Premiere section of the festival. The famous Argentina-England match took place at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, the venue of the opening match of the 2026 World Cup beginning on June 11. The FIFA World Cup this year is jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
'The Match' directed by Argentine filmmaker Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco revisits the two goals scored by the then Argentina captain Diego Maradona -- the controversial 'Hand of God' goal and the "miracle" goal -- to defeat England and proceed to the semi-final.
The Argentina-England match was played only four years after the two countries went to war with each other on the question of ownership of the Falkland Islands. Argentina would go on to win the 1986 World Cup defeating Germany 3-2 in the final, also played at the same Azteca stadium in Mexico City.
The second film on football at the festival is about the legendary French and Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona, which is part of the Special Screenings section of the Cannes festival. 'Cantona' directed by English filmmakers David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas explores Cantona's playing days in the English Premier League at the Manchester United where he rose to claim legendary status. The film probes the relationship between Cantona and the then Manchester United Manager Alex Ferguson.
The Cannes festival had previously premiered movies based on football, like 'Diego Maradona' by the Oscar-winning Indian-origin British director Asif Kapadia in 2019; 'Maradona by Kusturica', a documentary by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica in 2008; and 'United Passions: The Birth of the World Cup' based on the origin of the global football governing body FIFA in 2014.
This year, 'The Match' and 'Cantona' focus on two of the finest footballers of 20th century---Maradona and Cantona. 'The Match' is narrated by the 1986 England World Cup team's striker Gary Linekar and Argentine player Jorge Valdano, who also played in the famous 1986 match between the two countries.
"There are several matches around history, but the 1986 World Cup match between Argentina and England is one of the most iconic ones," says Cabral, who along with co-director Franco spent years researching the fine details of the historic quarterfinal in Mexico City.
'The Match', which relies heavily on archival material gathered from different sources, explores the fierce rivalry between Argentina and England on the football field, which reached the boiling point following the Falklands War in 1982.
'Cantona' throws light on the explosive French player who was considered unmanageable because of his indiscipline and hatred for conformity.
"Eric Cantona's career presented a rare opportunity to us as filmmakers, not simply because his five years at Manchester United transformed English football, but because of how he lived out his beliefs in his career," say Tryhorn and Nicholas.
"At a time when sport, and public life in general, has less and less room for big, unorthodox personalities, the story of a player who refused to compromise who he wanted to be and how he wanted to play feels genuinely timely," add the directors.
"To repay the faith shown in him by Alex Ferguson, he must hold back the madness within and completely quench the flame that guides him."
Cantona played for Manchester United from 1992 to 1997, becoming notorious for his assault on a spectator with a karate-style kick. He was suspended from playing football for eight months following the incident.
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