On the occasion of the Women’s World Cup, “Foot d’Elles” has created a film festival around the topic of women’s football.
The films will be screened in the cities hosting the World Cup: Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Nice, Rennes, Montpellier, Le Havre, Valenciennes, and Reims.
Yesterday afternoon, the Nucera library hosted the screening of the film “Taper dans la balle” by Sophie Laly. For 65 minutes, the director follows women footballers who also participated in a choreographed show by Mickaël Phelippeau.
Twelve players openly talk about the issues they encountered in practicing their sport. The stigmatization from an early age, sexist remarks, the difficulty of finding a club, they tackle all the topics. They range from 21 to 57 years old and in front of the camera, they demonstrate that football is not just a men’s sport.
The film was screened under the watchful eye of Véronique Marchandy, vice-president of the Centre LGBT Côte d’Azur association and founder of the Caram’elles association. She also founded a football club in Nice. “We accept all girls, all women, without age restriction.”
Véronique was not convinced by the film. “It’s not a surprise, it’s the second time I’ve seen it.”
While she asserts that the media coverage around the Women’s World Cup is moving things forward, it is far from sufficient. “In an all-female world, there are no issues regarding LGBT people. However, in a group of men, those who are openly gay are sidelined.” It’s against this injustice that the vice-president wants to fight. “Popular figures advance things when they show they are homosexual.”
She shares her opinion on the film “Taper dans la balle.”
“It’s a hybrid film. That is to say, they wanted to tackle a topic, but in the end, they changed angle in the middle. The film doesn’t deal with homosexuality at all; on the contrary, there’s a lot of talk about women who have husbands and children, and the sexuality of others is kept quiet. The LGBT cause is not really represented in the film. It’s hard to relate to.”
Véronique Marchandy had hoped for more from this film, more representation, and more commitment.
