Offside

Jafar Panahi

IndieLisboa 2007 •

Iran, Fiction, 2006, 88′

Who is that strange boy sitting quietly in the corner of a bus full of screaming fans going to the football match? In fact, this shy boy is a girl in disguise. She is not alone, women also love football in Iran. Before the game begins, she is arrested at the check point and put into a holding pen just by the stadium with a band of other women all dressed up as men. They will be handed over to the vice squad after the match. They must endure every cheer, every shout of a game they cannot see. Yet, these young girls just won’t give up. They use every trick in the book to see the match. A smart comedy illustrating the fight for women’s rights in Iran.