Movie Name: Offside Casting By: Sima Mobarak-Shahi - First girl Shayesteh Irani - Smoking girl Released: February 17, 2006 Genre: Sports and Teen Runtime: 88 min Rating: PG Director(s): Jafar Panahi Producer(s): Jafar Panahi Writer(s): Jafar Panahi, Shadmehr Rastin Distribution: Sony Pictures Classics U.S. Box Office: $77,561 Country: Iran Language: Persian
Movie Review
Offside (Persian: Ø¢ÙØ³Ø§ÛŒØ¯ ) is a 2006 Iranian film about girls who try to enter a World Cup game but are forbidden by law because of their gender. The film was inspired by director Jafar Panahi's daughter, who decided to attend a game anyway.
A girl disguises herself as a man to go along with a group of Iranian soccer fans to a World Cup Match. Just before the game begins, she is arrested and put in a holding cell with many other women who were also caught in an attempt to do the same thing. They are to be handed over to stadium security after the game, but until then they are tortured by the constant cheers of the game they cannot see. Before the match is over they will try everything they can think of to see it.
The film won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize in 2006, and was in the official selection for the 2006 New York and Toronto Film Festivals. The film was a part of the 30th Annual Portland International Film Festival in 2007.