Costa Rica’s star goalkeeper and Real Madrid stalwart Keylor Navas is used to playing before tens and thousands of spectators, and millions more on TV – but he admitted to some serious nerves when he had to climb the famous staircase in Cannes, France, where he presented the film based on his life, “Hombre de Fe” (“Man of Faith”).
Asked by the press which experience caused more pressure, the red carpet or the Champions League Final he’ll play in at the end of this month against Liverpool, Navas said: “It’s a complicated question. I already know what a Champions Final is like, but the stairs today are new – they make me a little nervous.”
The Costa Rican arrived at La Croisette after a 6-0 victory over Celta the night before in Real Madrid’s next to last Spanish League game of the season.
Navas appeared along with Costa Rican director Dinga Haines and his wife, Andrea Salas, to present the biopic, which follows Navas from his infancy in his native Pérez Zeledón, through his extraordinary success with the Costa Rican Men’s National Team at the 2014 World Cup, to his arrival at Real Madrid.
Navas, several of his teammates and Real Madrid coach Zinédine Zidane appear in the film, in a scene in which they are gathered in the locker room before a game.
The goal of the film, which premiered in Costa Rica in December, “was not to add to my image, but rather to show people that with faith and the help of God,” they can achieve their dreams, the athlete told the press, impeccable in a white shirt and blue suit. The devout Christian added that the film is dedicated to children, to give them “a seed of faith.”
The 97-minute film was not a part of the Cannes Film Festival, but was presented by Costa Rica at the Film Market, a parallel event, in hopes that it will be distributed in other countries.
It will premiere in Spain on May 22 and in Mexico on June 1.
