One of the most influential figures in European club basketball, Paulius Motiejūnas, will be a guest at the Estonian Olympic Committee Sports Film Programme.
Lithuanian, who serves as the CEO of Euroleague will come to Tallinn specifically to present the documentary Biletas: The Ticket.
This dynamic, inspiring, and moving film tells the story of the Kaunas Žalgiris basketball team’s rise to the pinnacle of European club basketball. Through unique archival materials and firsthand accounts, director Vytautas Dambrauskas’ film brings to life an era when epic battles with the Soviet Army Central Sports Club were more than just basketball for Lithuanians – they represented national resistance, a David vs. Goliath struggle.
Alongside Lithuanian basketball legends like Arvydas Sabonis, Rimas Kurtinaitis, and Valdemaras Chomičius, the film also features referee Valdu Suurkask, who passed away earlier this year. Suurkask officiated the Soviet Union championship finals in 1985, where Žalgiris claimed the title for the first time in 34 years, opening the door to the world stage.
For Motiejūnas, this visit as Euroleague CEO marks his first time in Estonia, an event organized in collaboration with Delfi Media. On Monday, November 18, at 7 PM at Solaris Apollo Cinema, fans will have a chance to hear from Žalgiris’ director about Euroleague’s current state and the secrets of Žalgiris’ successful season.
Biletas: The Ticket is part of the Estonian Olympic Committee’s sports film programme at the festival, showcasing six of the most compelling recent sports-themed films from around the world.
The program opens with Endgame, a brand-new documentary by Brent Pere, in which retired Estonian athletes discuss the challenges and opportunities of life after a career-ending injury.
The Croatian director Danilo Šerbedžija has created a biographical drama Dražen, about legendary Croatian basketball player Dražen Petrović, who tragically died in 1993 after his most successful NBA season.
Another biographical drama, Gundi, tells the story of Bulgaria’s all-time greatest footballer, Georgi Asparuhov, whose career was cut short by a fatal car accident in 1971. Directed by Dimitar Dimitrov, the film has broken box office records in Bulgaria, becoming the country’s most popular domestic film of the last 35 years.
The Argentine film People's Cup: A Street Symphony, by director Jesús Braceras, captures the country’s intense football fever that accompanied their national team’s 2022 World Cup victory, showing how football in Argentina is more than a game – it’s a religion.
Romanian tennis legend Ilie Năstase, known for his unpredictable behavior and for being the world’s top-ranked player in 1973, is the focus of Nasty, a documentary by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu, and Tudor D. Popescu.