The Beautiful Game is the acclaimed sports film that’s captivating viewers on Netflix, following a squad of English footballers as they travel to an international sports tournament, known as the Homeless World Cup.
While the players and the storyline itself are fictional, the football tournament is very real and has been taking place for more than two decades, bringing together people who have experienced homelessness from all over the world.
“The Homeless World Cup has been going for 20 years,” Bill Nighy, who plays Mal, the squad’s manager, explains in the below featurette. “It’s a huge sporting event and an amazing project. So these, characters are informed by real experience.”
The film, which has been streaming on Netflix since Friday (29 March), was inspired by the real-world tournament and not only took inspiration from players who had previously taken part in the World Cup, but also featured some of them on film.
“It’s a very entertaining package,” Nighy continues. “You get the story of the football, and how they’re going to do. You get the comedy, of which there is a great deal. And I think the film goes some way to explode those myths about homeless people.”
Watch the exclusive featurette below.