Home Games

2018 • 86 minutes

About this movie

Home Games is a broken fairytale depicting a crucial moment in the life of Alina, a 20-year-old "million dollar baby" from Kyiv, whose passion for football has a chance of saving her from poverty. Alina grew up on the streets in a poor suburb of the Ukrainian capital. While her parents were in jail for petty crimes, she started playing football with boys until a women's football trainer noticed her talent and signed her to Atex Kyiv, the only women's club in the city. Alina is now a pro player and it looks likely that she will be called up to play for Ukraine's national team. But suddenly, Alina's mum dies at the age of 39, leaving behind Alina's beloved half-brother and sister, Renat and Regina, 6 and 7 years old. Barely out of adolescence herself, Alina becomes a substitute mother. The children's father disappears. There is no money, and life is a mess. Alina's grandma is on hand and tries to help but she's losing her eyesight. The dysfunctional family lives in a cramped one-room apartment. Alina's lover, Nadia, lives with them, while nobody knows about their relationship, which offers the prospect of a new beginning. For a while, Alina quits football. She soon returns, but will she find the strength to save her family ans find her personal redemption? Home Games is more than just a film about girls who play football: it's a film about lost innocence, about responsibilities: how to make your dreams come true when the odds are stacked against you.