Trailer for Ana's Playground, which screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival 2010.
Ana’s Playground opens on a rag-tag group of children in an unidentified, war-torn country who are playing soccer while listening to a professional match. When their ball flies out of reach, our hero Ana is unexpectedly forced into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a sniper. As the contest on the radio heats up, Ana, her friends and the sniper all listen intently to the broadcast. In a fleeting moment, Ana forges a connection with her enemy – a mutual respect born of the recognition of worthy and sporting adversaries. However, the shared moment passes and the no man’s land swallows them up once again, with soccer, and sport in general, representing what’s left of their receding youth.
Ana’s Playground avoids political or regional stereotypes. Its focus is on the effects of war on children, rather than on the political or racial differences in a particular conflict.