Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’ to premiere at Toronto Film Festival
The forthcoming Taika Waititi movie Next Goal Wins will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2023.
Adapted from the 2014 documentary of the same name by directors Steve Jamison and Mike Brett, Waititi’s new film tells the story of the national football team American Samoa, who suffered the worst loss in the history of the world cup, losing to Australia 31-0 in a qualifying round in 2001. Starring Michael Fassbender, Kaimana and Will Arnett, the film will show at the festival in early September, months before its official release on November 17th.
Surrounding the news, the CEO of TIFF, Cameron Bailey, stated: “We’re thrilled to welcome Taika back to the Festival and share his audacious take on the most popular sport in the world…Next Goal Wins’ is perfect for TIFF fans of the beautiful game looking for their football fix until the 2024 World Cup arrives”.
Waititi most recently helmed the Marvel movie Thor: Love and Thunder and was awarded an Oscar for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ for his 2019 film Jojo Rabbit.
Speaking to Empire about his experience shooting the new movie, the director stated: “It taking place in Polynesia is very important to me, because it’s my people. We stick together. It was like seeing myself up there, seeing my family up there, when I saw that documentary, which is so perfect in many ways. And to have a broader audiences have access to that story was one of my main goals. To bring our backyard to people, and to put brown faces on screen was a big deal for me. I just loved it”.
Take a look at the trailer for Next Goal Wins below.
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