The 11mm football film festival 2022 will open on Thursday, May 12 with the Swedish feature film TIGERS. In his film, director Ronnie Sandahl tells the true story of the Swedish youth player Martin Bengtsson, who transfers to the youth boarding school of Inter Milan at the age of 17. His big dream: to become a professional football player. But things turn out differently. Martin Bengtsson cannot cope with the tough business with young talent and the omnipresent pressure. He falls into a deep depression.

TIGERS was submitted by Sweden as an entry for the 2022 Oscars in the Best International Film category.

"TIGERS manages to shed light on the lives of teenage soccer players in a very touching way," explains Schmidt. "It's a subject that still receives far too little attention."

Martin Bengtsson, who is now a successful theater maker in his native Sweden, and director Ronnie Sandahl will come to Berlin as guests for the opening of the festival.