Iran

Director: Jafar Panahi

Cast: Sima Mobarak Shahi, Safar Samandar, Shayesteh Irani, M. Kheyrabadi, Ida Sadeghi, Golnaz Farmani

Run Time: 88 minutes

Offside is not simply about women being banned from matches; it is about their rights in a Muslim society.

Like their male compatriots, a group of soccer-crazy young women want to watch a World Cup qualification match. But to enter the stadium, they must pass themselves off as men. The women try to disappear into the crowd, but their deep unease is obvious from their faces and body language. When they approach the security guards at the turnstiles, they must wait to see whether their disguises are successful.

While our sympathies lie with the young women, we remain sensitive to those on the other side of the issue: working-class soldiers and guards who must enforce policies regardless of their personal feelings.

Official site

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