Offside

"Teenage girls who are ardent soccer fans inventively disguise themselves as boys to be able to see the all-important Iran-Bahrain match leading up to the 2006 World Cup. Unfortunately women are banned from Iranian soccer stadiums lest they hear men swear or behave in some other inappropriate way. Some girls get through; others are caught and held in a room inside the stadium until the end of the match.

The central action of the piece is et within the holding pen where girls are kept and their motivating force is to find out the score. A soldier in the pen to guard them is barraged with questions by the girls, and forced to explain why they cannot see the match, the law sounds all the more ridiculous. Filmed during the actual World Cup qualifier on a digital camera, the film has a documentary feel even while being extremely funny." [www.paramount.co.nz]

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