AMID THE HYPE AND HYSTERIA OF Cannes, there was a hero. Pelé does not exactly look back with regret at the direction that his life took — how could he? — but his interest in cinema is profound. He would have loved to have delivered lines with as much verve as he dribbled, to stage films as spectacular and wonderful as his goals.

“When I was young I thought I could become an actor if I couldn’t become a player,” he said last week. Pelé was in France promoting a new documentary of his life, Pele Forever. He is in discussions with the producer of Escape to Victory about remaking the film that showcased the footballing talent of Michael Caine and the acting ability of Bobby Moore. That is not the only plan in the pipeline.

“[Pelé has] been talking about writing a screenplay about the structure of professional football in Brazil, the fact that most of our players are sent abroad,” Ilda Santiago, the executive director of the Rio International Film Festival, said. “He’s very keen on talking about what he thinks should change in football in Brazil. He really wants to be involved in cinema more than anything .”

Football and acting have a close relationship, as anyone who saw Cristiano Ronaldo’s tumble just outside the penalty area on Saturday could confirm. Yet football and celluloid traditionally gel about as well as Craig Bellamy and Graeme Souness. At Cannes this year, though, Pele Forever was only one of several football films jostling for attention. Indirectly, David Beckham was the trendsetter: after Bend It Like Beckham, the moguls noted that a football film could be acclaimed and popular.

Goal!, the tale of a young Mexican footballer filmed at St James’ Park and featuring Alan Shearer, had more success in Europe than Arsenal did this year, sealing distribution deals to several countries. David Ginola has graduated from flicking his hair on shampoo adverts to the flicks in only a couple of years. He was on the French Riviera to promote his latest film, The Last Drop, a Second World War heist movie. Also creating a buzz was a Spanish romance, The Longest Penalty Shot In The World — reserve goalkeeper meets girl — and a documentary on Real Madrid, as well as Lesbians of Buenos Aires, which includes the story of a woman footballer.

There are two Maradona films in production; documentaries, not sequels to Super Size Me. Maradona was due in Cannes over the weekend to present an award. On Wednesday he filmed a cameo for an Argentine television show, playing an alien who needs to be periodically recharged by a generator.

Pelé went to Cannes when Escape to Victory was released in the early 1980s. “This time I have something more emotionally important to talk about with respect to my life,” he told The Times. Keen to maximise the potential audience, he added: “The film is not only about football, it is about emotions. Women will like the film, too.”

Pele Forever lasts two hours and was five years in the making. It is expected to arrive in UK cinemas this year or early in 2006. The director, Anibal Massaini Neto, sourced material from across the world and used modern footage-restoring techniques so some of Pelé’s rarely seen or never-before-broadcast goals are included.

“It’s an interesting way of looking at how a person can make his own life turn into a myth because that’s what he is,” Santiago said. “He’s not even a celebrity any more, he’s like a legend. You could see that just walking around with him here. It’s unbelievable, it’s very hard to describe because he’s so recognised.”

“I am very happy because the new generations, when they talk about Pelé they [can see me]. This is the biggest gift of the film,” Pelé said. “I saw a lot of goals that I don’t remember. They found one goal I scored for the army. The film has a lot of good memories and surprises. A lot of goals I don’t remember and I think, ‘Oh my God, I did this goal this way!’ Unbelievable. This is the bible of Pelé.

“When I retired, that was very tough. When I got the injury in England against Portugal [in the 1966 World Cup], it was terrible. But the good of the film is it’s not only about football, it’s about my life outside football.”

Pelé, 64, has been married twice and is the father of at least two daughters out of wedlock, one of whom he did not meet until she was an adult. “We discussed with my director whether to use it in the film, but we decided to — this is my life,” he said.

“One thing that made me emotional was when I played my first World Cup [1958]. Brazil was the only national team with black players. I used to look and think, ‘Where are the black people?’ I think Brazil and Santos and myself, we did a lot for black people in society, opened a space for them.”

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