The Soul Of Brazilian Football

Ginga: The Soul of Brazilian Football
"Man, you can't just play football. You've got to have the sway" - Robinho


Brazilian football has always had a magical quality and a romance associated with it. As well as helping them win the World Cup a record five times, it is what makes Brazil everybody's favourite team after their own country. But what sets Brazil and its football apart from the rest?
Now a new film called 'Ginga: The Soul of Brazilian Football' has been created to explore this influence on football and life in Brazil. Produced by Fernando Mereilles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) and directed by three up-and-coming young filmmakers, Ginga is a dynamic documentary that explores Brazil through the country's favourite sport.
The concept of the film is rooted in the exploration of seven real-life characters, aged between the ages of 13 and 20, who come from different geographical regions and varying social and ethnic backgrounds.
The film captures an intimate portrait of their lives and provokes the questions: Is playing football for Brazilians more than just a pastime? Is it a way to achieve status and success? Is it an emotional escape from the troubles of their lives? Is it a sort of civic duty, a rite of passage of being Brazilian? Or is it simply done for the love of the game?
'Ginga' provides a glimpse into a land where the culture is so passionate, rich and vibrant and so rooted in movement that it can't help produce some of the world's greatest players and infect people with a love to play football.
One of those great players, World and European footballer of the year Ronaldinho says: "Ginga flows with the rhythm.
"It comes into football with dribbles, with the change of movements so you go on developing a different ginga. Everybody's got a different way to dance and to move to the sound of music so this dancing ginga you develop with time."
His compatriot and La Liga rival Ronaldo says: "I think it's in our blood, it's a gift given by God especially to Brazilians who play football and learn to dance from an early age.
"I think Brazilians are given ginga when they're born and continue to improve it through childhood."