This year’s SIFF has six movies that deal primarily or peripherally with athletic competition: Four are about soccer, two about cricket. Oh, the Europhilia! Most of these movies take familiar sports film plots and move them to different locales. The one unique entrant: Red Eyes (Ojos Rojos), about which more…right now!

Red Eyes (Ojos Rojos)
An unprecedented insider’s view of international soccer. Documentarians Juan Pablo Sallato and Ismael Larrain filmed the Chilean national team’s workouts, matches, and locker room speeches from their failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup through their successful run to the 2010 W.C. The players, rare for athletes, seem to trust the filmmakers and give really thoughtful answers to their questions. This is the must-see sports film of the festival. In Spanish with English subtitles. Directors scheduled to attend. Showtimes/Tix.

Spud
The main reason to go see this film is John Cleese’s performance as a foul-mouthed boarding school teacher. The sports tie-in is that our awkward, coming-of-age protagonist is at the school on a cricket scholarship. This is the North American premiere of the film, directed by Donovan Marsh. Showtime/Tix.

Fire in Babylon
Ready for some cricket history? Aw, yeah. This documentary chronicles achievements the West Indies cricket team, which dominated international cricket in the 1970s and ’80s with a fast, aggressive style of play. The Caribbean rise in sport is compared with the Caribbean rise in music–the soundtrack is heavy with Bob Marley, Toots Mayall, etc. From UK director and sports documentary vet Stevan Riley. In English. Showtimes/Tix.

A Barefoot Dream
Think Bad News Bears set in East Timor, this feel-good tale (based on a true! story) follows a rag-tag soccer team coached by a retired South Korean soccer pro who really just wants to launch a sporting goods store. Turns out the kids are surprisingly good. Joy ensues. Based on a true! story. Director Kim Tae-gyun is scheduled to attend May 24 and May 26 screenings In Korean, English, Tetun, Indonesian and Japanese, with English subtitles. Showtimes/Tix.

Hermano
Two brothers from the mean streets of Caracas get a tryout with their favorite soccer team. But “sinister undercurrents … threaten to derail everything they hope for.” The SIFF-provided summary strongly implies that there’s some neat street football scenes. By Venezuelan director Marcel Rasquin, Hermano was the Venezuelan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at last year’s Oscars. In Spanish with English subtitles. Showtimes/Tix.

Johan Primero
Sounds like a darker Fever Pitch. A Barcelona FC fan drives his car around their stadium 50 times a day, convinced that it brings the team good luck. Then he meets a girl. UH-OH. By the German director Johan Kramer, who also directed this Nike soccer commercial. In Spanish with English subtitles. Showtimes/Tix.