Take one American film director, a German film company and European actors from across the continent. Throw in one of the world's biggest sporting events for good measure and the result is a piece of film that encapsulates just how football, and UEFA EURO 2008™ , can be a force for good.

Huge impact
Different Languages – One Goal: No to Racism is currently making a huge impact on this summer's festival of football in the stadiums of Switzerland and Austria. The work of John Buché and the Embassy of Dreams production house in Munich, the film is being played before, during and after each fixture as part of the FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) Unite Against Racism campaign. Buché, a Washington DC-born football fan, was chosen by FARE to produce the film after the group picked up on his first foray into documenting the sport, Sold Out. Made in 2001, it was a hard-hitting exposé on the murky world of human trafficking in football.

Involved
Buché, a European resident for almost 15 years, said: "Living in Vienna, I was aware of FARE's Austrian members, Fairplay, not to mention the unavoidable excitement already generating around the tournament. I jumped at the opportunity to be involved." And so in October 2007, work began on Different languages – One goal: No to Racism, a 30-second film that was to become an integral part of FARE's tournament-long campaign.

Unique aspect
"The aim of the film was to encapsulate the inclusive, multi-cultural nature of the EURO in a bite-sized format," continued Buché. "It's one of the few sporting events that brings together so many people together in one place, at one time. It was this unique aspect that we wanted the film to celebrate." The casting process was swift but ensured a true 'mix' of people, both trained actors and raw hopefuls were used and a range of backgrounds represented. Buché explained: "Everything in the film is symbolic. Romanian actors represented eastern Europe, we used Dutch actors as a reference to colonial times, and Turkish actors were involved to signify their omnipresence throughout many parts of Europe at this point in time."

Fans' emotions
The film, which captures the emotions of different fans moments before a goal is scored, was shot over two days primarily in Munich's Allianz Arena stadium and an authentic Romanian restaurant in the city centre, and in the studio. "The film culminates with wild celebrations and shows the word 'goal' to be truly universal." And when the curtain comes down on the competition at the end of June, the film begins another journey. After being adopted by UEFA, ‘Different languages – One goal: No to Racism will now be screened at every UEFA Champions League match throughout the course of next season. "UEFA, along with the European Commission, helped to finance the film, " Buché said. "Without this backing, it may not have been possible. Now that the initial response has been immense, we hope the goodwill will carry on throughout the course of next season too."

Unite Against Racism
The Unite Against Racism campaign at UEFA EURO 2008™ is carried out by the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network in partnership with UEFA, and with support of the international players union FIFPro.

Full details in English, German, French and Italian are available on www.farenet.org.