Football Under Cover (2008)

Directors:

David Assmann
Ayat Najafi

Writers:

Corinna Assmann (writer)
David Assmann (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Tagline:

A Soccumentary.

Plot:

An amateur female soccer team from Berlin goes on a nerve-wracking journey trying to carry out the first female soccer match in the history of Iran.

Plot Keywords:

Women's Soccer | Women's Rights | Kreuzberg Berlin | Middle East | Islam

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Niloofar Basir	...	Herself
Narmila Fathi	...	Herself
Sanna El-Agha	...	Herself
Marlene Assmann	...	Herself
Ayat Najafi	...	Himself
Hüseyin Karaduman	...	Himself
Paraskewi Boras	...	Herself (as Paraskevi Boras)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mehtap Ardahanli	...	Herself
Corinna Assmann	...	Herself
Valerie Assmann	...	Herself
Stawrula Boras	...	Herself (as Stavroula Boras)
Silke Gülker	...	Herself
Safiye Kok	...	Herself
Trumaine McBride	...	Himself
Friederike Schmidt	...	Herself

Also Known As:

Anstoß in Teheran (Germany) (TV title)
Football Undercover (Canada: English title) (festival title)

Runtime:

86 min | Germany:52 min (TV version) | France:52 min (TV version)

Country:

Germany

Language:

English | Persian | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Flying Moon Filmproduktion

Quotes:

Ayat Najafi: You know what, we have quite a development. Because in the beginning they said, we like it but it's impossible. Then they said, we like it and we hope it will take place. Now they say, we like it and we try that it takes place.
Marlene Assmann: So what's the next step after this? We like it and we make it possible?
Ayat Najafi: Make it possible. And the last one is, we like it but it was canceled.

Soundtrack:

Gharibeh

Iranian Women, Without Cover

Football Under Cover is about the trip by a German women football team from Berlin to Iran to play the Iranian women national team; the first ever visit by a foreign ladies team to Iran. The "under cover" in the title refers to the requirement of women, including football players, to wear a head scarf in Iran. This also applied to the German ladies. This highly entertaining film covers the event from inception of the idea to the match itself. It's full of both poignant and hilarious moments. The most poignant moments concern one of the Iranian women players who, just before the all important game, is omitted from the Iranian team. The reasons for this are never explained, either by the Iranian authorities or the movie.

The film's main focus is on the difficulties and restrictions experienced by women in Iran. They are not admitted to stadiums to watch soccer matches, unless it's a ladies game for which no men spectators are allowed. The women spectators make loud protests during the game but what comes through clearly is the passion of the Iranian women for football and the power of this game to unite people from different cultures. According to the film's director this movie has not been given clearance to be shown in Iran. However its pirate DVD's are bound to surface there soon. Catch it if you can!