The 2017 Kicking + Screening Golden Whistle, given annually to the best film at K+S Soccer Film Festival New York as determined by the K+S film board, has been awarded to Club Frontera, directed by Chris Cashman and produced by Eddie Cahan.

Over the years, we've found that the best soccer films are never actually about "soccer" but about people: about challenges, identity, character, and inspiration. Club Frontera has all of that, and more. It has a great story and great storytelling. It celebrates how a game can bring pride, hope, and unity to a fractured city and that passion is not only boundless, but also borderless.

This year’s Golden Whistle is given in memoriam of Lena Kasambalides, our beloved friend and K+S team member who passed away suddenly in August. Her presence was deeply missed at this year's festival.

Lena (pictured below) brought an energy and vivaciousness to any space she entered, any conversation she joined. We are grateful that her love of the Beautiful Game brought her into our lives, and that we had several years to call her a colleague and, more importantly, a friend. She was a generous spirit and so giving with her time, her enthusiasm, and her dedication. We know she would have loved all the events this year, and would have been right there with us raising a glass of tequila to the Xolos.

Lena Kasambalides at the 2010 K+S Soccer Film Festival.