75' 2019 Sudan, Norway, Denmark director: Marwa Zein cinematography: Marwa Zein editing: Mohammed Emad Rizq production: ORE Productions
A group of young women from Khartoum dreams of playing soccer professionally. The first step to making that a reality would be to organize a female soccer team, but in a country torn apart by civil war and ruled by a military dictatorship, this would seem to be an impossible task. Even more so seeing that women’s soccer is officially banned in Sudan. Despite mounting obstacles—the threat of religious fundamentalists and ubiquitous corruption and nepotism—the film’s protagonists, who make a harmonious team both on and off the field, have no intention of giving up their dreams. These resolute, liberated, and independent young women are the complete opposite of the stereotypical image of Muslim women. Marwa Zein manages to capture a mood of hopeful expectation. Shortly after filming ended, mass protests in Sudan led to the collapse of the dictatorship.
