The Other Chelsea - Eine Geschichte aus Donezk

"The Other Chelsea - A Story From Donetsk" takes a look at present day Ukraine. Beyond the Orange Revolution lies a divided country: in eastern Ukraine people refer to the uprising as the ‘orange coup’ and yearn for Soviet times.

This portrait focuses on a group of old miners and a young millionaire-politician from the Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region – all of them loyal supporters of the local F.C. Shakhtar Donetsk. This film follows their lives and their trips to the stadium during the course of one football season. The stadium is not only the venue for a game of football, it is also the place to talk politics and do business – anyone who wants to be somebody in Donetsk will need a ticket for the VIP box at Shakhtar stadium. But although the club suddenly begins to enjoy unexpected victories on the pitch – thanks to the support of billionaire Akhmetov – their success is in stark contrast to the social and political malaise outside the stadium. While a powerful would-be populist elite continues to get richer the majority of the region’s population – particularly the miners – continue to toil in appallingly harsh conditions.

Source: 62. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Katalog)