In the short film Boniek et Platini, two young Polish boys use soccer to take on the cops and battle martial law in the backdrop of the 1982 World Cup.

Director Jeremie Laurent chatted with Kicking + Screening about making the film, the difficulty of creating a "football" movie, and why France might win the World Cup.

Boniek et Platini screens at Kicking + Screening on Wednesday, May 23. Get tickets here.

K+S: What was the inspiration for making Boniek et Platini?

As a huge fan of football and history, I wanted to bring together both in order to show the football (and the sport in general) as a way to resist in world in conflict. Nowadays, football is synonym of big money: Who’s going to be the next most expensive player of the world? The spirit is slightly disappearing, and I think it is really important to react with this insane part of football.

K+S: What’s the most difficult part of making a “football" movie? Would you even consider Boniek et Platini a football movie?

I think Boniek et Platini can be considered as a football movie, yes, particularly for the French/Polish audience. This 82' World Cup in Spain was epic for both countries.

The most difficult part is how to show the sport? Where do I put my camera? Inside or outside the field? I watched a lot of football movies and every time the camera was inside, with the players. It immediately disturbed me.

I think we are conditioned to watch football with the multicam sports productions aesthetic: one master shot and different close up shots with long-focus lens. As soon as we are inside the field, it becomes unrealistic. That’s why I decided to shoot the game using the same shots of multicam; to stay outside, not enter the camera in the field and perturb the players.

K+S: The World Cup is this summer. Who ya got?

The French team has great young players. Many of them play in great clubs. We have a good chance to reach the semifinals probably. But the team lacks a leader, so…