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Film series: Women on the Pitch

During the months of October and November, as part of our "Football for Hope" program, we are offering this film series at our Madrid and Cordoba offices, in which three documentaries on women's soccer teams from different Arab countries will be shown.

The program includes:

- Freedom Fields, by Naziha Arebi (Libya, UK, Netherlands, USA, Lebanon, Qatar, Canada. 2018, 97 min)
- 17 by Widad Shafakoj (Jordan, 2017, 73 min.)
- Tanger Gool by Juan Gautier (Spain, 2015, 80 min). 
Film series: Women on the Pitch
  • Film: "Freedom Fields"

    October 07, 20227:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper documentation. You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es up to the day of the screening at 12:00 p.m. Those tickets not sold online will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at Casa Árabe’s headquarters, as of one hour before each screening (payment in cash or by debit/credit card). Assigned seats with tickets. 
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    On Friday, October 7 begins in Madrid the film series "Women inside the area", which we organize in the framework of our program "Football for Hope". On this occasion we screen a documentary by Naziha Arebi about Libya.
    Freedom Fields, by Naziha Arebi (Libya, United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States, Lebanon, Qatar, Canada. 2018, 97 min.) Documentary

    In post-revolution Libya, a group of women has come together to achieve the dream they all share: playing soccer for their country. The director of the film first heard about the Libyan women’s soccer team through a post on the Internet. When she travelled to Libya, she was hoping to learn more about the project and discovered the team had existed for ten years, involving over 30 women and girls, though they had never been allowed to play a match. It was only in 2012 that the Libyan Football Association let the team compete for the first time, in a tournament against other Arab women’s teams in Germany. The permission to play resulted from a struggle lasting years, and the women see this victory as the fulfillment of the revolution’s promise that things are changing for women in Libya. Arebi of that revolutionary spirit that filled the country with hope, cut short by the civil war that the country has been living through.

    Festivals: Toronto International Film Festival (2018); BFI London Film Festival (2018) 
  • Film: "17"

    October 14, 20227:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper documentation. You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es up to the day of the screening at 12:00 p.m. Those tickets not sold online will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at Casa Árabe’s headquarters, as of one hour before each screening (payment in cash or by debit/credit card). Assigned seats with tickets. 
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Second screening in Madrid of the cycle "Women on the Pitch", with this Jordanian documentary by Widad Shafakoj. Tickets on sale online.
    17 by Widad Shafakoj (Jordan, 2017, 73 min.) Documentary

    The screening at Casa Árabe is the first to be held in Spain.

    “17” is a story about the lives of young women who are passionate about football, a sport they have been told is only for men. The film follows the Jordanian U-17 women’s national football team as they prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which was held for the first time in an Arab country, Jordan, in 2016. The girls, who come from very different social backgrounds, join forces to surmount a series of shared challenges as national team players. The documentary was shot during the crucial months leading up to the World Cup, with testimonials from Olympic gold medalist Ahmad Abu Ghosh and former Barcelona football player Xavi Hernández. Widad Shafakoj’s films are characterised by a strong sense of social commitment and defending human rights, including the problems of orphans in Jordan, Syrian refugees in the Al Zaatari refugee camp, and the vulnerable status of women who deliberately try to get put into prison in order to feel safe when faced with the risk of being killed by their families accused of honor crimes.

    Further information
  • Film: "17"

    October 14, 20227:30 p.m.
    CORDOBA
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9).Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9). 7:30 p.m. Free entrance until the event’s capacity is reached.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    First screening in Cordoba of this film series dedicated to "Women on the Pitch", which begins with the documentary "17", starring the Jordanian U-17 women's soccer team".
    17 de Widad Shafakoj (Jordan, 2017, 73 min.) Documentary

    This screening of the film at Casa Árabe is the first to take place in Spain.

    “17” is a story about the lives of young women who are passionate about football, a sport they have been told is only for men. The film follows the Jordanian U-17 women’s national football team as they prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which was held for the first time in an Arab country, Jordan, in 2016. The girls, who come from very different social backgrounds, join forces to surmount a series of shared challenges as national team players. The documentary was shot during the crucial months leading up to the World Cup, with testimonials from Olympic gold medalist Ahmad Abu Ghosh and former Barcelona football player Xavi Hernández. Widad Shafakoj’s films are characterised by a strong sense of social commitment and defending human rights, including the problems of orphans in Jordan, Syrian

    refugees in the Al Zaatari refugee camp, and the vulnerable status of women who deliberately try to get put into prison in order to feel safe when faced with the risk of being killed by their families accused of honor crimes.

    Further information
  • Film: "Tanger Gool"

    October 21, 20227:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62). 7:30 p.m. 5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper documentation. You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es up to the day of the screening at 12:00 p.m. Those tickets not sold online will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at Casa Árabe’s headquarters, as of one hour before each screening (payment in cash or by debit/credit card). Assigned seats with tickets. 
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    On October 21 ends in Madrid the film series that we have dedicated to "Women on the Pitch", with this documentary by Juan Gautier. Buy your ticket online now and don't miss it.
    Tanger Gool by Juan Gautier (Spain, 2015, 80 min.) Documentary

    Lying midway between fiction and documentary, director Juan Gautier presents us with the most lively, modern and positive side of Moroccan youth. Gender, racism and social inequality with Ahmed Younoussi, Soufia Issami and ”The Gazelles of the Straits,” who organize a match with the women’s team from the Atlético de Madrid to increase the visibility of women’s football and build bridges between Morocco and Spain. The documentary garnered eight candidacies at Spain’s Goya Film Awards in 2017.

    Fatima works in Arej, an association from one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Tangier, Birchifa, coordinating workshops for young people. One afternoon she meets the “The Gazelles of the Straits,” the local women’s football team, which has very few fans and only survives through the passion and effort they all put into the team. With the help of several friends (Mohcine, Arej’s general coordinator, Sisqo, a breakdancing teacher, and Tarik, the film teacher), Fatima decides to help them by setting up a women’s football match with a Spanish team and create an event in the city, thus increasing their visibility while creating a bridge between cultures.
  • Film: "Tanger Gool"

    October 21, 20227:30 p.m.
    CORDOBA
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9).Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9). 7:30 p.m. Free entrance until the event’s capacity is reached.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    With this documentary by Juan Gautier about the Tangier team "The Gazelles of the Straits" continues in Cordoba our film series dedicated to "Women on the Pitch", which we screen during October and November in the city. Don't miss it.
    Tanger Gool by Juan Gautier (Spain, 2015, 80 min.) Documentary

    Lying midway between fiction and documentary, director Juan Gautier presents us with the most lively, modern and positive side of Moroccan youth. Gender, racism and social inequality with Ahmed Younoussi, Soufia Issami and ”The Gazelles of the Straits,” who organize a match with the women’s team from the Atlético de Madrid to increase the visibility of women’s football and build bridges between Morocco and Spain. The documentary garnered eight candidacies at Spain’s Goya Film Awards in 2017.

    Fatima works in Arej, an association from one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Tangier, Birchifa, coordinating workshops for young people. One afternoon she meets the “The Gazelles of the Straits,” the local women’s football team, which has very few fans and only survives through the passion and effort they all put into the team. With the help of several friends (Mohcine, Arej’s general coordinator, Sisqo, a breakdancing teacher, and Tarik, the film teacher), Fatima decides to help them by setting up a women’s football match with a Spanish team and create an event in the city, thus increasing their visibility while creating a bridge between cultures.
  • Film: "Freedom Fields"

    November 04, 20227:30 p.m.
    CORDOBA
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9).Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9). 7:30 p.m. Free entrance until the event’s capacity is reached.
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    Last screening in Cordoba of the film series dedicated to "Women on the Pitch", with Naziha Arebi's documentary dedicated to the Libyan women's soccer team.
    Freedom Fields, by Naziha Arebi (Libya, United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States, Lebanon, Qatar, Canada. 2018, 97 min.) Documentary

    In post-revolution Libya, a group of women has come together to achieve the dream they all share: playing soccer for their country. The director of the film first heard about the Libyan women’s soccer team through a post on the Internet. When she travelled to Libya, she was hoping to learn more about the project and discovered the team had existed for ten years, involving over 30 women and girls, though they had never been allowed to play a match. It was only in 2012 that the Libyan Football Association let the team compete for the first time, in a tournament against other Arab women’s teams in Germany. The permission to play resulted from a struggle lasting years, and the women see this victory as the fulfillment of the revolution’s promise that things are changing for women in Libya. Arebi of that revolutionary spirit that filled the country with hope, cut short by the civil war that the country has been living through.

    Festivals: Toronto International Film Festival (2018); BFI London Film Festival (2018)