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) 

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

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

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.

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.

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)