KHARTOUM OFFSIDE
The film was streamed July 23 - 25 and followed by a panel discussion Saturday, July 25
Khartoum Offside (2019, Sudan/Norway/Denmark) dir Marwa Zein A group of exceptional young ladies in Khartoum are determined to play football professionally. They are prepared to defy the ban imposed by Sudan's Islamic Military government and they will not take no for an answer. Their battle to get officially recognized as Sudan's National Women's team is fearless, courageous and often laughable. But their struggle is unwavering. Through the intimate portrait of these women over a number of years we follow their moments of hope and deception. Despite the National Football Federation getting FIFA funds earmarked for the women's teams, this team continues to be marginalized. However, there is a new spark of hope when the elections within the federation could mean real change of the entire system.
Rising Up: Sudan includes performances, conversations and films to bring audiences together to witness, celebrate, and amplify the perspectives of communities in Sudan and its diaspora.
Join the conversation on July 25 on women in sports in Sudan with Green Kordofan’s founder Raga Gibreel and Sudanese-American athlete Maya Zein in conversation with Darfur United’s cultural ambassador Souleymane Adam.
Panelists include:
Raga Gibreel, founder and director of Green Kordofan, is a graduate of Sudan University for Science and Technology and the University of Reading. Her work as a reporter for the Citizen newspaper in South Sudan helped inform her knowledge of the plight of the region’s people and her passion to make a difference. She now works tirelessly to further Green Kordofan’s aims and achievements.
Maya Zein grew up in Houston, Texas where she was introduced to competitive junior tennis at the Zina Garrison Tennis Academy together with her 3 sisters and went on to play collegiate tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, one of the top women's tennis programs in the country. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2012, she spent 3 years teaching tennis at a local country club and was an assistant tennis coach at The Kinkaid School in Houston. In 2015, Maya pivoted and began her career in finance as an investment banker at the Oil & Gas Investment Banking division of Scotiabank, a Canadian bank, in Houston. Maya is currently on sabbatical in Toronto, Canada preparing for the CFA Level I exam in December and plans to continue pursuing a career in finance. She is an active member of SAPAA and has participated as a panelist in previous SAPAA events. She also enjoys playing tennis and traveling.
Souleymane Adam is from Darfur where he spent his childhood before living in a refugee camp in eastern Chad with his eleven siblings for his teens. He settled in Kansas City five years ago. He graduated from Cloud County Community College in the fall and is now attending Iowa State University. Souleymane hopes to be a lawyer and work at the UN. He was a goalkeeper for Darfur United’s men’s team and is now their cultural ambassador. Darfur United has both men’s and women’s teams representing Darfur. iACT co-created the team with refugees from the Sudan-Chad border. iACT has also co-created the Refugees United Soccer Academy, a place for refugee girls and boys ages 6 to 18 to learn about teamwork, leadership, and peacebuilding, all while improving soccer skills. More info here.
About the director:
Marwa Zein is an award-winning Sudanese film director, script writer and producer of her highly acclaimed debut Khartoum Offside and short fiction films A game and One week, Two days. Khartoum Offside debuted at the Berlinale Forum in 2019 and went on to garner many prestigious awards and festival selections. Zein was born in Saudi Arabia and subsequently lived in Egypt. She quit studying chemical engineering at Cairo University after 3 years to study cinema in the Academy of Arts in Cairo, graduating with honorable mention in 2009. She worked as assistant director to many acclaimed Egyptian directors such as: Halah Khalil, Khairi Beshara, Dawoud Abdelsayed and Shady Fakharany between 2009 and 2015, and was a festival programmer for the Sudan Independent Film Festival between 2014 and 2017. She established her own production company ORE Productions in 2017 based in Khartoum, Sudan, and is currently working toward a masters degree in film in Germany. More at vimeo.com/marwazein
Brought to you by:
