Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story (2023) is an international documentary by Kurdish-Canadian director Kordo Doski about a football club of Kurdish refugees in Sweden and their fight to the top tier of the Swedish football league system, Allsvenskan. As a former footballer, Doski wanted to make a documentary about the plight of the Kurdish people to inform North Americans of this issue, and ended up staying with the Dalkurd club for eight months while filming. This film depicts many poignant events for the club which illustrate not only the perils of statelessness and its effects on those displaced, but how the ethos of the Dalkurd club hones in on the resiliency of the Kurdish plight, seen through the diaspora in the club’s then-home of Borlänge, Dalarna. 

The documentary brings us through the last three games of the 2017 season, seeing Dalkurd FF face off against other Swedish men’s football clubs. Winning one of these games would allow Dalkurd to ascend to the highest league tier of Allsvenskan, and the film makes a point to showcase everything else in-between games for Dalkurd’s footballers. We meet the players on and off the field in an unfettered view of their lives: seeing them scrimmage during practices, have serious locker-room talks, and even hold witness to a team captain’s wedding. Allihopa provides its viewer with an all-access pass to the best and the worst the team has to offer. 

The film’s events also coincide with the 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum and the subsequent military retaliation from the Iraqi government as a result of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s calls for Baghdad to negotiate state building efforts. These events affect Dalkurd’s Kurdish players deeply, and we see players even wish to go back to the Kurdistan Region to support their countrymen. It is worth noting that many of the Kurdish players on Dalkurd were in the People’s Defense Units (YPG), a mostly Kurdish volunteer militia in Syria that were instrumental in the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, and in the ongoing conflict between Syrian-Kurds and the Islamic State (then called ISIS). 

The complexity of Kurdish life coupled with the emotional landscape that displacement fosters brings to us a very vulnerable side of the players, especially outside of the pitch. In light of this dispossession, the Dalkurd story shows us its whole heart, and we as viewers feel alongside these players during their triumphs and their conflicts. A fascinating aspect of this film is the intentional juxtaposition of two nationalisms: the Kurdish variety, where we see the local diaspora chanting and holding Kurdish flags at Dalkurd games, and the Swedish variety, which  stands staunchly against immigration and openly endorses Nazism. The Dalkurd club and its Kurdish fans, brought together through their unimpeachable unity, have established a sense of belonging that triumphs over the right-wing reaction to their continued existence in Sweden. 

The story of Dalkurd FF, its founders and its players is one of hope after despair. While the club itself has its internal and external battles, the devotion to not only their team, but to each other and the community they’ve found through the diversity of experience allows them to triumph over all imposed adversity. At the intersection of sports and politics, Allihopa sees humanity and resiliency win. 

The 2024 ReFrame Festival runs from January 25th-February 4th. A list of films, tickets to events and screenings, and more information can be found on the Festival Website.