All eyes on Les Arbitres in Locarno

Referees may want to put Monday 10 August in their notebooks ... because that is the day that Les Arbitres – a film which promises a humanist vision of the men in black – has its world première.

Behind the scenes
Les Arbitres will have its first screening at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, kicking off at 18.30CET on 10 August. The movie is a documentary about football which was filmed behind the scenes with UEFA's authorisation at UEFA EURO 2008™ in Austria and Switzerland last summer.

'Humanist vision'
Over its 77 minutes' duration, Yves Hinant's work presents an independent, occasionally light-hearted view of refereeing and, according to the film festival organisers, it will "unite both fans and those utterly indifferent to the game through its humanist vision". Les Arbitres' big-screen debut is part of the Ici & Ailleurs (Here and Elsewhere) programme of films at Locarno which aims to reflect the times we live in and arouse debate. The documentary will be released in cinemas in France and Germany in the autumn. The festival runs from 5 to 15 August.

Cast
Twelve referees, 24 assistant referees and eight fourth officials took part in the UEFA EURO 2008™ final round in Austria and Switzerland. Click here for the full list. From among the team, Roberto Rosetti, Howard Webb, Massimo Busacca, Peter Fröjdfledt, Manuel Mejuto and many of their relatives are the main characters in the film. As far as exploitation and transmission of the film is concerned, other territories are to follow, and uefa.com will provide the relevant information in due course.