"I was very taken with it [the book]," Falardeau told kinoradio.pl. "particularly with the perspective with which the Polish journalist describes the whole history." Between 1958 and 1980, Kapuściński, a journalist and non-fiction writer working primarily for the Polish Press Agency, became known for his incisive, very personal accounts of political and social upheavals across the world, as he covered twenty-seven revolutions and coups in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Part reportage, part diary, Kapuściński's collection The Soccer War contains his recountings of the stories behind the official press despatches. He depicts Ghana as it became the first nation on the African nation to gain post-colonial independence, portrays Congo mired in civil war in the early 1960s, apartheid from the point of view of the individual, and the sometimes "frightening, grotesque, and comically absurd aspects of life during war" - the GoodReads website says.
Traveling to South America, Kapuściński brings the reader up against the conflict between Honduras and El Salvador that entered history as the Soccer War or the 100-hour War, which quickly escalated after a qualifying match between the nations for the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Tensions over immigration were brought to the fore, and El Salvador's military launched an attack. About 3,000 people, including civilians, were killed before the Organization of American States negotiated a ceasefire. Kapuściński's propulsive recap, "The Soccer War", is the piece that gave his renowned collection its title.
The book is the latest of the influential writer’s works to be transformed to a film project. Another Day of Life, about the writer’s 1975 trip to Angola, is currently being turned into a full-length animated documentary. A cooperation between Spanish director Raul de la Fuente and Polish filmmaker Damian Nenow, whose short animated films Paths of Hate and City of Ruins have been acclaimed, that film will combine video footage of eyewitnesses reminiscing about the events with 3-D animation. Another Day of Life is scheduled for release in 2015.
Philippe Falardeau was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film at 2012 Academy Awards, for his movie Monsieur Lazahr. In his adaptation of The Soccer War, Falardeau will focus on the conflict between Honduras and El Salvador.
Sources: Polish language article for culture. Pl, culture.pl, The news.pl, Good reads,
Editor: Marta Jazowska