Offside
a JAFAR PANAHI picture
Synopsis
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. But before this, they will be tortured! They must endure every cheer, every shout of a game they cannot see. Worse yet, they must listen to the play-by-play account of a soldier who knows nothing about football. 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 violation of women’s rights in Iran.
Trailer
Stills
Press
"In his most accessible and spontaneous picture, ranking Iranian helmer Jafar Panahi reveals unsuspected comic gifts."
VARIETY
"Eloquent, invigorating, tightly paced, and endlessly enjoyable…a fully engaged, life-affirming drama that is equal parts comedy, political metaphor, and suspense film…a mix of breathless pacing and narrative minimalism; Panahi’s characters are thrust into circumstances that make them observers of the schematics of present-day Iranian society, visualized by the filmmaker in fluid, freeform long takes that prize human agility over cinema pyrotechnics. “Offside” further realizes this great artist’s vision of his ever-changing, troubled political present—one that American audiences really need to see right now."
INDIEWIRE
"There’s no denying its rough, rousing power or its relevance as an illuminating social document."
TIME OUT
"A spirited rebuke of the political and social restrictions faced by women in Iran. Tinged with tragedy and tension but ultimately buoyant in tone…these stroppy city girls’ ability to outwit the country-boy soldiers trying to keep them out gives Offside a surprising exuberance, one that’s further enhanced by Panahi’s semi-documentary shooting style and his energetic cast. The extraordinary final scenes not only raise hopes that Iranian society is capable of transformation but that Western viewers will realize there’s more that unites our cultures than our respective governments would have us believe."
EYE WEEKLY
"Panahi has made a comedy: mocking, farcical, celebratory."
THE INDEPENDENT
Festivals
& Awards
Berlin Film Festival
Silver Bear for Best Director
Toronto International Film Festival
Tokyo Filmex
Audience Award
Gijón International Film Festival
Best Actress
Special Prize of the Young Jury
Ljubljana International Film Festival
Amnesty International Film Award
Istanbul Film Festival
Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Anonimul Film Festival (Romania)
Best Director
New York Film Festival
Cast & Crew
| Nazanin Sedighzadeh | |
|---|---|
| Mahnaz Zabihi | |
| Golnaz Farmani | |
| Ida Sadeghi | |
| Mohammad Kheyrabadi | |
| Shayesteh Irani | |
| Safar Samandar | |
| Sima Mobarak Shahi |
| Director | Jafar Panahi |
|---|---|
| Scriptwriters | Jafar Panahi |
| Shadmehr Rastin | |
| Producer | Jafar Panahi |
| Editor | Jafar Panahi |
| Production Coordinator | Davood Samavatyar |
| Production Manager | Saeed Hashemi |
| Directors of photography | Mahmood Kalari |
| Rami Agami | |
| Sound | Mohammad Reza Delpak |
| Composers | Yuval Barazani |
| Korosh Bozorgpour |
Releases