Chicago Film Festival To Feature Glencoe Native's Documentary On Soviet Hockey Team

(CBS) -- The documentary "Red Army" about the legendary Soviet hockey team of the Cold War years is being shown at the Chicago International Film Festival Tuesday night.

Gabe Polsky, a native of the Chicago area, produced and directed the film. He says it's not only about hockey.

"It's kind of an epic journey that is a lot about Russia and the Russian people that uses hockey as a window."

The film has already been a hit at several film festivals and, Polsky says, fans - both of hockey and movies - are finding a connection.

"Beyond politics and ideology it's a human story," Polsky says,"and that's what's reaching people."

"It's a film about everything but hockey. It's about the meaning of sport, people and nations around the world, it's about friendship and betrayal."

And, Polsky says "Red Army" touches on the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980 when the U.S. beat the Russians, but takes a bit of a different view, the Russian view.

"It's really unfortunate that the legacy is really only remembered only by the Miracle game and Americans have done a pretty good job of popularizing that."

Polsky, who grew up in Glencoe and played hockey at Yale, and now lives in Los Angeles says he's always looking forward to bringing his films home to Chicago.

"Red Army" will be in wide release in January.