1985. Football fans gather at Brussels’ Heysel Stadium for the European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool. Before kick-off, hooligan violence erupts, leaving 39 people dead. With the mayor of Brussels drunk and overwhelmed, his daughter and press attaché Marie steps in to mediate between politicians, police and match officials. At the heart of the negotiations lies an impossible question: cancel the match and risk further unrest, or allow play to continue? Based on true events and incorporating archive footage from Heysel, the film looks beyond the tragedy itself to the long, troubled entanglement of football and corruption, sport and politics. Heysel 85 premiered as a Berlinale Special Gala.
