‘El Partido’ is a feature film documentary about the most iconic football match in history:
The 1986 World Cup quarter-final — Argentina vs. England — a match that was never simply about football.
Played just four years after the Malvinas/Falklands War, it bears the weight of conflict, loss, and unresolved grief on both sides. It’s a doorway into something far larger: rivalry, territory, and ultimately coexisting cultures on a planet.
The documentary does something unique: it reunites members of both teams. Players sat in front of large projections, and spoke freely about the game, the infamous goals, about war, what they felt then, and what they feel now. The result is raw and deeply moving. It ends with a poem from Jorge Luis Borges. A poem that, in his singular way, captures the essence of the film — the shared tragedy, the absurdity of war, and the beauty of the game.
The running time is 91 minutes. The exact length ot the match.
Directed by Juan Cabral & Santiago Franco
Written by Juan Cabral & Santiago Franco
Based on El Partido by Andrés Burgo
Produced by Flora Fernández Marengo
Cinematography
Pablo Gallego
Edited by
Lucas Coppolechia
Sebastian Fasanelli
Juan Pablo Scaglione
Mauro Caporossi
Music by
Nico Barry
Tomas Jacobi
Production Companies
Industria del Milagro
Labhouse
Distributed by
Buena Vista International
Release Dates
May 2026 (Cannes)
21 May 2026 (Argentina)
Running Time 91 minutes
Country Argentina
Languages Spanish / English