Sony Pictures Classics will open OFFSIDE on March 23rd in NYC and LA

www.sonyclassics.com/offside

2006 Berlin International Film Festival

Winner Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

Official Selection 2006 Toronto International Film Festival

Directed by Jafar Panahi

SYNOPSIS

Many Iranian girls love soccer as much as their countrymen and sport fans all over the world but, they are prevented by law from attending live soccer matches in their country. Inspired by the day when his own daughter was refused entry to a soccer stadium in Iran, Jafar Panahi's OFFSIDE follows a day in the life of a group of Iranian girls attempting to watch their team's World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain at the stadium in Tehran.

A disparate group of girls, united only by their desire to see their beloved team play live and in-person, disguise themselves in myriad ways, risking arrest to try to get into the game. The girls are either caught trying to get in or are spotted in the crowd once they make it past the entry guards, and all are taken to a holding area on the upper level of the stadium, where they are tortured by being able to hear the roar of the crowd without being able to see what is happening in the match.

The young women, who range from timid to tomboy, are guarded by a group of naïve young soldiers who would rather be watching the game themselves, out with their girlfriends or at home looking after their sheep. The soldiers and their prisoners are so close in age, and the girls' crimes so harmless, that they have a hard time maintaining their adversarial roles.

As they wait out the game, the young men interact with and befriend the generally far more savvy women. One girl is a tomboy from the city who taunts the guards about their country ways. Another young woman relates the adventure that got her caught to cheers from the other girls - she stole an officer's uniform to disguise herself but, made the mistake of sitting in the wrong chair in the VIP enclosure.

One young soldier, who is as much a fan as his captives, is persuaded into shouting out the highlights of the game as he watches through a gate. When he is scolded by a slightly superior officer, his punishment is being forced to escort one of the girls to the bathroom. Fearful of how the men in the stadium might react, he punches out the eyes of a cardboard player's poster to make a mask for his prisoner, so she won't offend any men on the way. One girl turns out not to be a soccer fan at all but, has her own sentimental reasons for wanting to be at the game in honor of a friend.

As the game nears it's end, the girls are rounded up in a van to be transported to jail, along with another young man who was caught setting off firecrackers in the stadium. The soldier in charge is persuaded to turn on the radio so they can hear the final moments of the game on the way and, when Iran defeats Bahrain to win the qualifying match, the day ends happily for all.

JAFAR PANAHI ON OFFSIDE

In Iran, like many other countries, football is very important. As you can imagine, the majority of distractions are rather limited. So football is both sport and entertainment. It's an opportunity for people to shout, let themselves go, expel all the pent-up energy within them. Sometimes, when a match coincides with a demonstration, and Iran wins, the demonstration becomes more intense.

Origins of the Project

Eight years ago Iran beat Australia and qualified for the World Cup. Upon their return the players were given a triumphant welcome by the population. It is prohibited in Iran for women to enter sports stadiums. However, this time they were granted the right to celebrate the players' return. Five thousand women turned up and went inside stadium, and this spurred a lot of debate as to why women are forbidden from entering in the first place. I remember at the time reading an article by a sports journalist, explaining that even in Ancient Greece, women were confronted with this problem. Four hundred years B.C. women had to disguise themselves as men in order to cheer on their sons who were sports heroes. Whether or not this is true, it triggered my first ideas on the subject.

Also, four years ago I was living near the stadium where our football team trains. I wanted to go and watch and my daughter wanted to come with me. I tried to explain to her that she couldn't, but she nevertheless wanted to try. So we set out with the entire family, that way if my daughter was refused entry, my wife could take her back home. We went to the stadium entrance and, as I had expected, my daughter was refused entry. I told her to go home with her mother, but she found another way of getting into the stalls and to my surprise, she joined me. This event also inspired my thoughts about the film, which I tucked away in a corner of my mind. When I realized Iran once again had a chance at being selected for the World Cup, I decided the time was right to do this film.

The Law

There is a problem in Iran because the barrier between what is permitted and forbidden isn't always very clear. If, for example music is banned, you can be sure that people will listen to it even more. Also, those who are there to enforce the laws have their own personal interpretations of them. For this reason, we never really know if we are dealing with an actual law or someone's interpretation of it. The police have to make sure people respect the law, but people will always try to do what they want anyway. Regarding football, the ambience inside a stadium is highly virile and masculine. Men in this context are prone to becoming rowdy and insulting each other, and this fuels the debate, as certain conservative people think that women should not be exposed to such behavior.

The Clash of Generation

Military service in Iran is mandatory, they are not civil servants. These guys come from normal families, they are just like everybody else. So they can easily relate to the urges and desires of their generation. These soldiers are there to pose restrictions, but they don't always feel comfortable with what they're doing. And then you have the elderly, with their more traditional views. The traditionalists represent nearly ten percent of the population, and they have the power. And there is of course, a clash between these two generations.

Every restriction is the result of many other restrictions. If we look at one limitation in particular, it prompts us to consider many more. My films work in the same way. I take a relatively simple subject and try to develop all the issues surrounding it, everything in general which relates to this one simple subject. This one small problem ends up representing a greater problem on a larger scale in society. The World Cup is an international event. Whether it be in Iran or Japan, we all aspire to the same values and that is why we must eradicate oppression. Perhaps our Iranian girls are also expressing a desire to be part of the global community. But this is not meant to be the message of my film, the audience free to take from it whatever they want.