Streetkids United Press

International Sales Press and Publicity ROBBIE LITTLE NICHOLA ELLIS President The Little Film Company The Lighthouse Company STREETKIDS +1 (818) 762 6999 +1 (818) 954 8486 [email protected] [email protected] Featuring the Umthombo Young Stars Directed by tim pritchard Running time 75 minutes TEN10 Films and Elfin Productions in association with ! ! ! Creativity! Media and Tim Pritchard Productions and ! with the! participation of Molinare A Film and Music ! Entertainment! production of a Tim Pritchard film ! ! ! ! ! ! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Featuring Directed by Produced by ! The Umthombo Tim Pritchard Mike Downey ! Young Stars Sandy Markwick ! Sam Taylor ! ! ! Executive Music Co-produceRs ! Producers Crispin Taylor Tendeka Matatu ! Isango Ensemble Rachel Young Catrin Cooper ! ! Patrick Fischer ! Peter F. Gardner ! ! ! ! Film Editor Directors of ! Anna Ksiezopolska Photography ! ! Ad Ahmed ! Tim Pritchard ! ! ! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""! ! ! ! ! TAGLINE ! ! From leading UK production house FILM AND MUSIC ! ENTERTAINMENT comes the uplifting story of the Umthombo ! ! Young Stars. ! ! To much of the outside world they are a nuisance, best hidden ! or ignored. but they are aspiring to much more. They want to be ! a team. ! ! ! ! ! Short Synopsis ! ! STREETKIDS UNITED is about a team of homeless children, chosen to ! represent South Africa in the first ever Street Child World Cup, who see ! football as a way to a better and brighter future. ! ! ! ! Long Synopsis ! ! In 2010, as South Africa geared up for the World Cup, another football ! tournament was taking place, away from the glare of the media spotlight ! and the attentions of big business. The South African city of Durban played ! ! host to the Street Child World Cup bringing together the vulnerable and ! overlooked – homeless kids from around the world, in search of a better ! and brighter future. ! ! We start by following the selection process, getting to know the children ! along the way. All the children are desperate to win a place on the South ! African team, represented by Umthombo, an organisation that offers ! support and advice to street children. They want to use the competition as a ! ! catalyst for better things. ! ! The team’s coach, Biza, will choose a team of nine players. But this is not ! ‘Strictly…Football’. Our kids need more than fancy footwork to make it ! through selection. They also have to survive life on the streets. We discover ! who is the most skillful and who can be relied on to turn up on the day. We ! follow the relationships between the children and find out about their lives; ! ! their experiences of violence, drug abuse and neglect at the hands of their ! families and the authorities. ! ! We witness the euphoria and disappointment as the children find out if they ! have made the team, before they head off to an intense training camp and ! finally, the tournament itself. ! ! We rejoin the children after the tournament and follow them through to the ! ! day of the FIFA World Cup final. We want to see if the tournament really ! has made a difference to their lives or whether, once the business side of ! football kicks in and their brief moment of glory is over, they find anything ! has changed. We watch as some return home to be reunited with their ! families, whilst others carry on just as they did before – taking each day as ! it comes. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! On Street Children On The Umthombo organisation ! Street children are extremely visible new family, but each one of them has Umthombo was started by Tom and child experience and an incredible throughout the developing world; they their own unique and compelling story. Bulelwa Hewitt in 1992. Bulelwa is a relationship of trust and respect with the are often forced to work, beg or steal to The majority of the children are former street child who grew up on the children. get by. The issue of street children is a boys, who have run away due to streets and amongst South Africa’s urban controversial one in South Africa as there psychological, physical or sexual abuse, rubbish dumps. She has worked on a Umthombo also engages in advocacy of is a huge stigma attached to being most often as a result of alcohol. Yet, number of projects for street children. key issues that relate to street children. homeless - these children are one of the once on the streets they themselves are Tom has been working with street Through campaigns it aims to demystify most misunderstood groups in the exposed to the dangers of drug and children since 1992 after first meeting the urban phenomenon of street children, country. Often seen by society as the alcohol abuse. street children in 1990, in Maputo, educate society as to the realities that visible face of crime (the term "crime during the Mozambican civil war. these children face and to impact policy generators" is a popular term given to Conflict often occurs with the police and and decision making in relation to street these children), a nuisance, a threat and has resulted in the children being Umthombo empowers street children and children. Umthombo develops informed an embarrassment, very few people removed to the outskirts of the city and aims to change the realities that they citywide strategy examples as a actually understand what drives children dumped there. The police's so-called face and make an impact on policy. It springboard to local debate and action to the streets, what happens to them “Walla Walla” vans, particularly in the began as an outreach and aftercare and has been actively part of the there and what strategies would best build-up to the FIFA World Cup, would organisation and has since grown to developing of a new national policy on serve them. round up street children and leave them accommodate many of the children, street children with the South African in sugarcane plantations several hours giving them counselling and support. Department of Social Development. Despite being prolific they are difficult to away from the city. Most of the children Umthombo’s Durban model is pioneering reach with public services such as who feature in our film have been victims the idea of providing alternatives to Umthombo led the successful campaign education and healthcare. Not only have of this rash attempt by the government to street life through engagement and to end the round-ups (“forced removals”, many of them been neglected by their lower the crime rate. therapeutic interventions and focuses on “operations” or “sweeps”) of street families but they often face demonization addressing the traumas associated with children by authorities in Durban before from the societies which they are a part The Umthombo organisation works hard the children’s experiences. Umthombo’s the 2010 World Cup. The campaign to of, as can be seen at the beginning of to offer positive alternatives to street life team is a fusion of social working end the sweeps was also the inspiration STREETKIDS UNITED. These kids often and has fought to bring questionable professionals and trained former street for the Deloitte Street Child World Cup group together for protection to form a practices, like the “Walla Walla” vans, children who have a unique (an idea that came to a group of to an end. understanding of the realities of the street international visitors to Umthombo). ! ! DIRECTORS STATEMENT - TIM PRITCHARD Although serious issues are raised in STREETKIDS UNITED marks my first foray STREETKIDS UNITED, this is not an issue into theatrical feature documentaries – based film. It is the story of nine street It’s an experience which I have relished. kids who are presented with an incredible opportunity. They are used to In 2009 I began working with F&ME to looking out for number one on the develop more ambitious theatrical streets. Can they unite to achieve feature docs which could take something great as a team? my documentary experience to a bigger, bolder level. STREETKIDS UNITED is the All of the team members come from first product of that relationship, but I traumatised backgrounds, have been so well supported by Mike representatives to some extent of kids Downey and Sam Taylor at F&ME, growing up in post-apartheid South Sandy Markwick, and Cat Cooper at Africa. Their lively accounts of their Elfin Productions, that I hope to continue escape from the townships to life on the this collaboration on future projects so streets of a big city provide eloquent that together we can make more On the deloitte Street Child World Cup testimonies to the challenges that Africa theatrical feature documentaries that tell ! faces - poverty, social breakdown, amazing, important and relevant stories. In March 2010 street children from discussed issues of importance so that, inequality and housing and land crises, Brazil, India, Nicaragua, the Philippines, after the event, they were able to return but also give us a sense of the fun, STREETKIDS UNITED is a very intimate South Africa, Tanzania, Ukraine, and the home and act as advocates and mentors energy and optimism with which they film which takes the viewer into a UK competed in the Deloitte Street Child for the other street children in their home face the ups and downs of their lives. shocking world that we are rarely World Cup. The competition, hosted by countries. Alongside this, each team exposed to the eyes of the world. It’s a Umthombo recognised the millions of entertained the others with a presentation I have over fifteen years experience story that needs to be told. children who live on the streets around about their country – singing, dancing, directing prime time TV documentaries the world. For the first time ever, street food, presents. This was followed in the and drama documentaries for British and children had the opportunity to show the final three days by all the teams coming international broadcasters.

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