Heysel 85

Local title
Heysel '85
Director
Teodora Mihai
Year
2026
Festival
30th Black Nights Film Festival
Programme
Genre
Subject
Mood

Violence erupts at a football final, leading to an international crisis in this superbly tense drama.

Heysel Stadium, Brussels, May 1985. Thirty-year-old Marie, daughter and press attaché of the mayor of Brussels, attends the European Cup Final between Juventus and Liverpool FC with her parents. Also present is 31-year-old Luca Rossi, a journalist covering the match for Italian TV, accompanied by family who have arrived from Italy.

Before kick-off, hooligans go on the rampage. Dozens of people die; chaos ensues. While continuing to report, Luca searches for his family. And Marie has to step in for her father who, drunk and overwhelmed, is no longer capable of taking command. The politicians and police are faced with the question: cancel the match or let it go on? As fear takes hold that stopping the game could escalate the situation further, a questionable decision takes shape.

Teodora Ana Mihai’s third feature is a gripping insider view of a terrible real-life tragedy.

The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Director
Teodora Mihai
Screenwriter
Lode Desmet, Isabelle Darras, Teodora Ana Mihai
Producer
Hans Everaert
Co-producer
Frans Van Gestel, Anette Unger, Delphine Tomson, Sven Rudat
Cast
Violet Braeckman, Matteo Simoni, Josse De Pauw
Cinematographer
Marius Panduru
Editing
Bert Jacobs
Composer
Anna Katharina Bauer
Production
Menuetto
Co production
Topkapi Films, Leitwolf Film, Les Films du Fleuve
Runtime
Subtitles

Screenings

Screening040221 / Heysel '85
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Screening duration
Screening083119 / Heysel '85
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Screening duration
1st Saku hall Apollo Kino Solaris
Screening131119 / Heysel '85
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Screening duration
Trailer