52 Films by Women Vol 10. 44. HEYSEL 85 (Director: Teodora Ana Mihai)

 

Pictured: Press attaché Marie (Violet Braeckman) negotiates the chaos resulting from football violence at the ill-fated 1985 European Cup Final held at Heysel stadium in Brussels, Belgium, in co-writer-director Teodora Ana Mihai's third feature, 'Heysel 85'. Still courtesy of Icon Film Distribution (UK)

For her third feature (after La Civil and Traffic), Heysel 85, Romanian-born, Belgium-based writer-director Teodora Ana Mihai tackles the Heysel football disaster of 29 May 1985, the European Cup Final at which 39 people died and dozens more were injured before a ball was even kicked. The project was brought to her by Belgian producer Hans Everaert. Mihai re-worked the existing script with co-writer Isabelle Darras working from material by Lode Desmet, Matthias Lebeer and Everaert himself. The result gives a female perspective on male failure of leadership and, frankly, dignity. The match, held at the stadium formerly known as Heysel, in Brussels, went ahead, several hours after fighting had broken out between Liverpool and Juventus supporters. 14 Liverpool supporters were convicted of manslaughter for their part in the violence.

Mihai’s principal viewpoint character is Marie (Violet Braeckman), multi-lingual press attaché to her father, the local mayor (Josse De Pauw). He is flushed to be hosting such a prestigious event, attended by 60,000 paying fans. Only the match has been undermined by a number of factors, principally, the re-selling of tickets, in particular in Section Z, which placed English and Italian fans in close proximity. Ultras – Italian football fans – had attacked Liverpool supporters both before and after the European Cup final in Rome the previous year, when Liverpool played AS Roma; there is the suggestion that Liverpool fans sought revenge. In addition, there was no coordinated security force responsible for controlling crowds. Walkie talkies used in the build-up to the match had run out of battery life and needed to be re-charged. The stadium had been renovated, but there was rubble available for attendees to use as weapons. During the fighting, a wall collapsed. Fatalities included young supporters; women and children were present. A hole in the stadium wall had been used by non-ticket holders to enter. Of significantly less importance, the bathroom used by Liverpool FC players is backed up.

A secondary viewpoint character is Italian reporter, Luca Rossi (Matteo Simoni). At the start, we see him interview a family, including a fourteen-year-old boy. When the interview is concluded, Luca scuffs the boy’s head. He is Luca’s younger brother, who joins other members of his family in Section Z. As the disaster unfolds, Luca is torn between issuing regular updates to the Italian public and searching for news of his brother.

The decision not to include the fans’ perspective may strike viewers as avoiding the nasty truth. We don’t see who threw the first projectile and whether the violence was premeditated. The film takes as read the potential of hooliganism. It examines the question, what more could the authorities do to prevent injury to those with no prior expectation of being caught in the crossfire?

Not only does the film refer to the 1984 cup final. Dialogue mentions Margaret Thatcher going to war over ‘the Malvinas’ and against the miners. This is balanced by Italy being described as a country famous for corruption and the mafia. Nationals of two countries not known for respect for the working class; it is no wonder the filmmakers don’t give them a voice.

The first English voice we hear is a member of Liverpool FC on crutches, to whom Marie identifies herself.  He makes a show of not needing anything. Marie is searching for the caretaker, who has the keys to the liquor cabinet. Her father wants to know why the guests – or rather himself – is not served a ‘proper drink’. Marie eventually finds him, but through the search Mihai establishes a rowdy atmosphere. We are aware through sound echoing through tunnels of the agitated crowds above.

The mayor gets steadily drunk as reports of scuffles begin to circulate. He meets the Italian Ambassador and the two reminisce about World War Two. ‘I was in the Italian resistance,’ says the Ambassador, morally one-upping the mayor. Luca files his report in the media centre while multiple televisions show fighting outside. Then after a wall collapses, spectators enter the tunnels leading to the changing rooms and casualties steadily increase. The mayor abnegates any responsibility and turns to the chief of police Albert Simons (Fabrizio Rongione). A significant problem is that two forces, not one, are tasked to contain the fighting, neither cooperating with the other. Towards the end of the film, an official moots outsourcing security to a contractor, thereby guaranteeing control. There are those who will cynically use a disaster to make a deal, even as the bodies mount.

Part of the film focuses on Belgian shame. ‘You wanted to work for your father. Now you know what he’s like,’ Marie’s mother (Anne-Claire) tells her. Completely drunk and given coffee to sober up, the mayor cuts a pathetic figure but not above giving Marie a lesson in politics. ‘Sometimes it is better to let others speak,’ he explains, accounting for his own inertia. If he suggests nothing, he can’t be blamed for any decisions taken.

As bodies are identified and messages given to an Italian announcer are read out on air, explaining that they are fine, so the film focuses on whether the match, now heavily delayed, should be cancelled. Moreover, should it be aired at all? A German broadcaster, ZDF, refuses to show it, also claiming the moral high ground. If Italian players refuse to go out onto the pitch, they will cede the cup to Liverpool. ‘What if both teams decide not to play?’ one person asks. However, cancellation could result in rioting, both in and outside the stadium. The mayor – naturally – is keen for the spectacle to be held, even as complaints are made about the choice of venue, compared unfavourably to one in Africa.

Both sets of players are guilt-tripped into participating in the match, which is a tepid affair, in which only one goal – a penalty by Juventus – is scored. Meanwhile bodies lie covered in sheets in a secured area. Marie looks through them, searching for Luca’s brother. She discovers a teenage boy. She is also tasked with acting as translator, though silenced when she puts across her own opinion.

Heysel 85 is a gripping drama, offering a caustic view of the blame game that took place over 120 minutes with few penalties. No officials lost their jobs or were criminally prosecuted for what happened. There is contemporary resonance with the 2017 Grenfell Fire disaster, in which 72 people died and the successful prosecutions to date have involved (in the main) fraud relating to rehousing rather than for corporate manslaughter. A caption at the end of the film tells us that English clubs were banned from European competition for five years. Liverpool Football Club continues to commemorate the anniversary of the disaster.

Mihai’s film is aimed at a Belgian audience, asking them to demand more of their officials. ‘Brussels is a great city,’ at least one person explains. Discuss.

Reviewed at Screen Four, Picturehouse Central, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, 09:00am, Sunday 11 October 2026, London Film Festival Press & Industry screening