Ultras – Films – Visions du Réel

Ragnhild Ekner
Sweden, Denmark, Finland | 2025 | 89 min
International Premiere
Languages : Arabic, English, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish
Subtitles : English, French

What faces lie behind the fireworks and banners that fill stadiums the world over? Brought up in the terraces, Ragnhild Ekner unpacks the culture of the football ultras, going beyond the violent reputation that riles up politicians and the media, revealing instead its beauty and complexity. A riot of colour abounds in this dazzling odyssey through the world’s most iconic arenas.

Universally recognised yet rarely understood, ultra culture is routinely demonised by political and media circles, often reduced to its most anti-social expressions. Ultras offers a much-needed corrective to this narrow view, delivering a nuanced and immersive perspective that reveals the depth, beauty, and complexity of this sporting tradition, as it unfolds across a riveting journey through eight countries and four continents. Ragnhild Ekner invites us to explore the diversity of ultra movements — from feminist collectives in Indonesia to the veterans of Italy’s pioneering scene. The film plunges us into a vibrant mosaic of colour, flags, smoke bombs, and chants, capturing the magnetic power of this human spectacle. Far more than a simple observational journey, Ultras portrays the stadium as a space of community, rebellion, and even liberation — in a cinematic gesture infused with poetry and romanticism. And all of this, remarkably, without showing a single minute of football on screen!
James Berclaz-Lewis

Ultras, 2025
The Traffic Lights Turn Blue Tomorrow, 2017