Offside
The Frida Cinema's seating is first-come, first-serve. For our Midnight Screenings, please plan on arriving by 11:30pm to ensure ample time for parking, picking up concessions, and securing optimal seats. Screening will begin promptly at midnight.
Director: Jafar Panahi Run Time: 93 min. Release Year: 2006 Language: Persian (Farsi)
Starring: Ayda Sadeqi, Golnaz Farmani, Mahnaz Zabihi, Shayesteh Irani, Sima Mobarak-Shahi
We are celebrating TEN YEARS with our beloved volunteer Sammy Trujillo with his Volunteer of the Month pick, the timely 2006 Jafar Panahi film Offside.
During a 2006 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, several young women are arrested after disguising themselves as men to get into the stadium, where women are banned from attending soccer matches. Held under military guard just outside the stands, they rely on the sounds of the crowd and the reactions of the soldiers to follow the game. Filmed during an actual World Cup qualifier, Offside captures the excitement of live sports while turning its focus to the absurdity of the rules keeping these women outside. Funny, tense, and deeply humane, Jafar Panahi’s film finds moments of resistance in the smallest acts of everyday life.
Since its release two decades ago, Offside is rarely seen on the big screen, so we thank Sammy for highlighting it so that we can share it with our community.
This film is presented in its original Persian (Farsi) language, with English subtitles.