FILM INFO

Feature Documentary | 75 min | USA | 2014 | Directed by Jeffrey C. Bell

Sons of Ben: The Movie tells the story of a passionate group of North American soccer fans who embark on a quest to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to their city, exploring how the experience changes them and a struggling city by making them both a part of something much larger.

In 1996 Major League Soccer played its inaugural season and although Philadelphia is a top ten market with storied sports franchises, it was not awarded a team. Ten long years later it still didn't have a team, so a group of die-hard Philadelphia soccer fans took matters into their own hands and did something crazy: they formed a supporters club for a team that didn't exist. Naming their group after famous Philadelphian Benjamin Franklin, they called themselves the Sons of Ben. They had one goal – to bring professional soccer to Philadelphia. Setting themselves the modest goal of expanding to 100 members by the end of one year, they tapped into a wellspring of local soccer fanatics and soon had 1,500 drum-banging, song-singing followers. Together, these Sons of Ben started a movement that brought into existence the Philadelphia Union, changing the soccer landscape in Philadelphia forever, and also helped revive a struggling community abandoned by government, business, and its neighbors.

This is the story of the Sons of Ben.

BONUS: A "sneak peek" of the upcoming film Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story will be screened ahead of the feature. 

Ticket Info

An ID or Ticket confirmation (printed or on mobile device) is required for all screenings. All post screening panels with directors, players, pundits and after parties are open to the public.