Documentary

Football Under Cover

Name: Football Under Cover
Director: David Assmann and Ayat Najafi
Released: 2008
Duration: 86 min

David Assmann and Ayat Najafi

2008

David Assmann and Ayat Najafi · 2008 · Germany/Iran

A Berlin women's team tries to organize a historic public match against Iran's national women's side.

It makes football a vehicle for examining gender restrictions, public space and cross-border solidarity in Iran.

The Historian

This 2008 documentary preserves the historical moment when Berlin club Turbine Potsdam attempted to host Iran's women's national team. The endeavor highlights the challenges of organizing an international match under restrictive Iranian rules, shedding light on issues of female participation in sports, public space, and cross-cultural exchange during a time of heightened diplomatic tension between Germany and Iran.

The Psychologist

This film taps into the desire for connection and belonging through shared athletic experience. The protagonists' efforts to host an international match reveal societal anxieties around women's roles in public spaces. By projecting their own experiences onto others, they forge a transnational solidarity that transcends geographical and cultural divides.

The Sceptic

While the project highlights the tensions between Iranian authorities and female athletes, its narrative focus on a Berlin club may create a Eurocentric view of feminism, overshadowing the experiences of Iranian women who face more severe repression. The story also risks romanticizing Western liberalism as a solution to oppressive regimes.

These are interpretations written in three voices, not quotations from any individual.

Language: German/Persian
Length: 86 min
Subject: A Berlin club's match with Iran's women's national team
Region: Middle East
Tone: Serious
Difficulty: Familiar
Awards: Teddy Award for Best Documentary; Teddy Audience Award; Freedom Award

Flying Moon Filmverleih/Zorro distribution; educational film libraries

Commercial streaming varies by territory; the film is banned in Iran.

Sourceen.wikipedia.org

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