Offside

A group of girls attempt to flout a ban on women entering the stadium for the soccer World Cup qualifier.

A group of teenage girls living in Tehran is determined to see their soccer team play in a crucial qualifying game leading up to the World Cup. But a government decree forbids them from congregating in a stadium largely filled with raucous males.

Undaunted, the girls disguise themselves as boys in an effort to gain access to the stadium.

Curator’s Note

Forget the spectacle and focus on the periphery. Jafar Panahi’s adored 2006 film relegates the World Cup qualifier between Iran and Bahrain to the sidelines as he shifts our focus to a group of teenage girls attempting to pass as boys to enter the stadium. Corralling the soccer match to offscreen space, Panahi keeps the roars of the crowd tantalisingly close and the view of the field oh so far.

After the Iranian Ministry of Guidance refused to issue a licence for production due to Panahi’s previous films, Offside was filmed in secret and subsequently banned in Iran. It went on to screen in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the Silver Bear prize.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)