To kick off the latest series of Directors’ Cuts, award-winning British filmmaker Simon Ellis shares his playful short World War Cup, made from audio recorded in a pub during a televised broadcast of an England-Germany World Cup football match. Here, the director talks about his playful take on soccer’s notoriously vocal fans:

“Having recorded the audio of England supporters in a nasty city centre bar, the main challenge was finding the right way to visually illustrate the mayhem. Uniting the historical context of war with the contemporary aesthetic of televised football coverage, the match plays out like a German invasion of British territory. 

"The UK coastal location features war remnants both inland and out. All camera movement is in accordance with the actual match and where the football was on the pitch, as per the clock. The choice of font is a nod to the UK's most xenophobic red-top newspapers.”