By John Corrado

★★★ (out of 4)

The 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival runs from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

Founded in 2004, the Dalkurd Football Club is a soccer team made up of Kurdish refugees living in Sweden, who are partially playing to raise of awareness of the fact that Kurdistan is no longer its own independent state.

Directed by Kordo Doski (and executive-produced by David Oyelowo), the inspirational documentary Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story follows this team over the course of three championship games that will decide whether or not they can join Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top soccer league. These games are taking place at the same time as a crucial referendum that is being held in Kurdistan to decide the future independence of their country.

The scenes on the field are complimented by interviews with the individual players. They talk about the importance of playing for Kurdistan, as well as the added responsibility of representing all immigrants living in Sweden, at a time when xenophobia is on the rise from the anti-immigrant group Nordic Front. Partially because of this, Dalkurd has struggled to gain as much support as the Swedish national football clubs they are competing against. The film also highlights how the Kurds fought to defeat ISIS in Iraq, and are facing persecution in the region.

The title Allihopa is a Swedish word that translates to “all together,” which they chant in the locker room before each game, and the film does a good job of capturing this camaraderie between the players. It’s a fast-paced, well-edited documentary that nicely balances being an underdog sports movie with a story about the immigrant experience, while first and foremost playing as a feel-good crowdpleaser.

Screenings: Saturday, April 29th, 5:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre 7; Thursday, May 4th, 12:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre 5. Tickets can be purchased here, and the film will also be streaming online across Canada from May 5th to 9th.