The documentary chronicling the story of Ferenc Puskás coaching South Melbourne Hellas has secured a national release.
‘Ange and the Boss: Puskás in Australia’ debuted to phenomenal reception last year with hugely successful sessions at the Greek Film Festival in Sydney and Melbourne, and it is now set go a step further with screenings organised across Australia throughout March.
The film will be shown in nearly all of Australia’s capital cities from 13-29 March, and Tony Wilson, one of the three directors alongside Cam Fink and Rob Heath, credited it to the glowing reception it received in the Greek Film Festival.
“The Film Festival launched us. We had so many people go to the screenings with the Greek Film Festival. I think that is why the theatres they have taken us on,” Wilson told Neos Kosmos.
The co-director explained they have endeavoured to keep seeking the Greek diaspora’s support, reaching out to the relevant Greek Community in each state to inform them about the screenings.
He even noted another plan to speak with the Greek football clubs across Australia in the future and see if they have an interest in the documentary.
Wilson said that he and the fellow directors have been thrilled with the positive reaction the film has received, describing it as a “euphoric” experience.
“I sit there and watch it every time because I love listening to the laughter and love seeing people cry,” he said.
The co-director highlighted that a strength of the film they discovered is in providing a look at the difficulties that Hellenic-background Australians navigated during the 1980s and 1990s.
“Guys like Gus Tsolakis, Kimon Taliadoros and Ange Postecoglou are brilliant at explaining how hard it was and what these clubs gave people,” he said.
“It gave them that respite and a place of sanctuary from the drudgery and difficulty of factory work, and the club was a place they could have friends, speak Greek, eat Greek food and have a break from the challenges of life.”
The escapism and sense of community provided by the clubs serves as a key theme of the film, which goes in tandem with the incredible story of Puskás (one of the greatest footballers of all time) coaching Hellas.
Wilson revealed that sense of community fostered by the clubs in the NSL era is something that has resonated with the broader audience of the film, not just the Greeks, identifying that as one of the great strengths of the now-defunct competition.
“I think there are negative connotations in the minds of the general Australian public on the NSL, but what they are probably missing is what Greeks know, which is the competition was not just fraught with the confrontations and incidents between the ethnic fans,” he said.
“The incidents were just a sideline. The bigger story was always the cohesion that they provided and the reason they flourished and have, in some ways, been more successful than A-League franchises that replaced them is that there was a real sense of belonging.”
The film’s co-director acknowledged Palace Cinemas as a big supporter for the national release.
The participating cinemas showing the film consist of the following:
(Melbourne) Nova, Classic, Lido, Cameo, Sun Theatre, Thornbury Picture House, Westgarth, Pennylane, Brighton Church Street, Balwyn, (Geelong) Pivotonian, (Adelaide) Nova Prospect, The Picadilly, (Sydney) Norton Street, Ritz, (Perth) Palace Raine Square, (Brisbane) Five Star New Farm, The Barracks, James St, (Canberra) Electric.
Further information on the screenings can be found at the film’s website.
