Wednesday, Nov. 16
Film: "The Third Half," a film by Darko Mitrevski (2012), Sperry Center, Room 104, 7 p.m.
Thinking about Soccer, Politics and History on the Eve of the Qatar World Cup
The Third Half is a Macedonian-Czech-Serbian film about Macedonian soccer and the
deportation of Jews during World War Two. The film was selected as North Macedonia’s entry
for Best Foreign Language film at the 85th Academy Awards. As with presentation of "The
Miracle of Bern" on Nov. 7, the Project on Eastern and Central Europe is sponsoring this
film screening as an opportunity to think about the entanglement of soccer, politics, and
history. Not only did individuals associated with the team become victims of the Third Reich’s racial empire, but the team had significant meaning for Macedonian nationalists seeking their own nation-state. The history told here is still contested, as evident in Bulgarian protests about the portrayal of Bulgaria in the film.
Description from the film’s website: “In 1941 Macedonia, a young Eastern Orthodox, Kosta, and a wealthy young Jewish woman, Rebecca, fall in love, despite her father's effort to keep them apart. With the war raging around their borders, the Macedonians remain cocooned in their world of patriotic pleasures, primarily concerned about getting the beleaguered Macedonia Football Club on a winning streak. Their manager hires the legendary German- Jewish coach Rudolph Spitz to turn them into champions. But when the Nazi occupation begins and they start deporting Jews, Kosta and his teammates realize that the carefree days of their youth are over. As the Nazis try to sabotage the outcome of the championship game, and Spitz's life is threatened, Kosta and his teammates rise to the challenge to protect their coach, with all of Macedonia cheering them on.”
The film screening is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact scott.moranda@cortland.edu.
Presented by the History Club, the Project on Eastern and Central Europe and the Clark Center for Global Engagement.