Our Mission

To engage, connect, and inspire soccer and film enthusiasts through the celebration and presentation of soccer culture.

Our History

Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival is an annual series of soccer cultural events that bring together soccer and film enthusiasts to celebrate the beautiful game.

K+S provides a forum for filmmakers, artists, and writers to showcase their work, uniting the millions of fans that make soccer the international phenomenon that it is. K+S is dedicated to showcasing the best soccer films in the world to bring attention to this under-appreciated, emerging film genre.

The festival's roots can be traced to April 2009, when a blind date between two fervent soccer and film fans, Rachel Markus and Greg Lalas (both pictured), quickly evolved into a global festival celebrating soccer culture.

The success of the inaugural, sold-out K+S New York 2009 festival has led to K+S festivals in Washington (D.C.), London, Amsterdam, Liverpool, Kerala (India), Rio de Janeiro, Abu Dhabi, and more. The festival has presented world premieres, U.S. premieres, speaker series featuring soccer celebrities, writers, and directors from around the world, several literary readings, and photo exhibits for thousands of festival attendees.  

OUR TEAM

Rachel Markus co-founder

Rachel first conceived of Kicking + Screening while living and working in London, immersed in soccer culture. Always an avid fan of and participant in the beautiful game -- she was a ruthless striker -- Rachel studied film at New York University and has worked in the film industry since 2002.

Greg Lalas co-founder

A former professional player, Greg is a veteran media executive in the North American soccer industry. He has held positions as Vice President of Content at Major League Soccer, Editor-in-Chief of Goal.com USA, and a contributing writer to Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, among others. He is on the board of Soccer Without Borders.

Oliver Parman marketing + business development

A devoted player and fan of the beautiful game, Oliver brings more than 20 years experience in media/marketing and communications.

Jessie Daniels partnerships

Jessie is a long-time fan who writes about the beautiful game as well. She brings extensive experience in international affairs and strategic communications, along with reverence for the deep-lying playmaker's flair for tactical magic.