TEDDY AWARD Winner Ayat Najafi about queer film making in Iran
Channel: TEDDY AWARD
Date: 2015-12-28

"30 Years - 30 Interviews"
Birthday Greetings from Ayat Najafi
In this interview, the Iranian film maker and TEDDY AWARD winner of 2008, Ayat Najafi, talks about the production of his documentary "Football under cover". He describes the difficulties film makers experience in Iran, the achievements of the last years and the pride of the Iranian Foreign Ministry that an Iranian movie won a queer film award. Also, Najafi explains what it meant to win the TEDDY AWARD which to him is a true freedom award.

About the movie
Teheran in April 2006. Iran’s national women’s team and a local Berlin women’s football team are playing their first official friendly match – before a crowd of more than a thousand cheering women. The atmosphere at the stadium is electric and super-charged with girl power. Outside the stadium, a few men peer through the fencing, trying to catch a glimpse of the proceedings, because today, men are barred from the game. Although their only desire was to play football together, it has taken the young women of both teams a whole year of bitter struggle to get where they are today. Theirs has been a battle against testosterone, arbitrariness and oppression. This film accompanies Marlene, left-back of the Kreuzberg club BSV AL-Dersimpor, and Iranian player Niloofar on their journey.
More info at http://teddyaward.tv/en/archive?a-z=1&select=F&id_film=212

About this clip
This clip is part of a series dedicated to the 30th birthday of the TEDDY AWARD in 2016. The Teddy winners take a look back in queer film history, reflect on the meaning of a queer film prize and talk about the impact that the TEDDY AWARD had on their films as well as on their artistic lives.