JULY PLAYLIST
Pioneers in Sports
This month, we’re highlighting films that center around groundbreaking female athletes.
With movies from all around the globe, this playlist calls attention to the context, circumstances, and figures that redraw the limits of possibility. From a team of college rowers demanding better facility conditions, to a community of young female skaters in Kabul, to an unparalleled champion shown in a new light, these are the stories of disruptive female athletes whose resilience paves the way towards revolutionizing their sports..
Solia Cates is the Editor-In-Chief of WomenDo, a graduate of Yale University’s Film and Media studies program, and a writer and actress based in Los Angeles.
A Hero for Daisy
By Mary Mazzio
1999, Narrative Feature
This 1999 short documentary tells the awe-inspiring story of Chris Ernst, a two-time Olympian who inspired the female rowing team to storm into the Yale Athletic director’s office in 1976 to demand better locker room conditions. Nineteen female athletes stripped, revealing the message TITLE IX in blue marker, referring to the 1972 Education Amendment act that states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sec, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This landmark film displays incredible athletes using their bodies for resistance and revolution, advocating against the appallingly substandard quality of their conditions, and creating long lasting change.
Salaam Dunk
By David Terry Fine
2011, Documentary Feature
Set in Northern Iraq, Salaam Dunk follows the members of the first-ever women’s basketball team at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani as they navigate the struggles, wins, losses, and joys of the sport. Many of the players never having played sports before, and much less been part of a team, the film depicts its subjects in a period of breakthrough as they redefine the boundaries of their bodies and relationships. The interspersing of traditional interviews with confessional video diaries brings personal narratives to the forefront. For the players, basketball is not only about the game, it is also the center of many emotional bonds of new friendship, and a grounding force against a reality of political and economic strife. The compelling documentary portrays a community created out of curiosity, built of passion, and dedicated to improvement.
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By Jenna Contreras, Lauren Stowell
2021, Documentary Episode
This ESPN-produced documentary follows the WNBA during their exceptional 2020 season, as they transform their season for the pandemic. Beyond the undeniable greatness of their athletic ability, the players must push barriers by putting themselves in the most vulnerable of circumstances. The film is gripping in its humanity; lifelong athletes continue to play basketball as they always have, but now in entirely unforeseen conditions, redefining the meaning of dedication. In a world that mandates isolation, these women must put themselves in the face of danger in order to work on their sports, maintain their jobs, and do what they do best.
Girl
BY: Lukas Dhont
2018, Narrative Feature
Inspired by the story of Nora Monsecour, a Belgian trans female dancer, this is the story of Lara, a 15-year-old girl born into a boy’s body, training to become a professional ballerina. The film follows the girl as she deals with the challenges of adolescence and rigorous dance training, while preparing for gender reassignment surgery. Refreshingly, the story portrays Lara’s community as largely accepting of her gender identity-- against the framework of her supportive father, psychiatrist, and peers, there are only a few striking moments of hardship in which her struggles with her identity are explicitly externalized. As Lara wrestles with the internal and physical frustrations of her gender identity, she falls into a pattern of abusing her body, in part due to weight loss, and in part the physical repercussions of her commitment to ballet. Victor Polster’s boundless performance makes this film a mesmerizing portrait of a young woman in the painful, beautiful, complicated process of self-discovery.
Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (if you’re a girl)
By Carol Dysinger
2019, Documentary short
This Oscar and BAFTA-winning short documentary follows a group of girls at Skateistan, an international non-profit that empowers women through combining skating and education. Kabul is the backdrop; while their sport of choice may not appear exotic to the American viewer, it is revolutionary in a world where there is no precedent for girl and woman skaters. The combination of skating with education creates a haven for the young students; they learn to be independent leaders, empowered women, to push the boundaries of what they believe their bodies can do. Produced by a female crew, this hopeful film tells a story of female power, and particularly young female power, in the face of external instability.
Renée
By Eric Drath
2011, Documentary Feature
A portrait of the film’s titular figure, Renée Richards, an ophthalmologist and professional tennis player who attempts to enter the U.S. Open as the first transgender tennis player. The film weaves together her attempt to enter the 1977 U.S. Open with her current-day life. The interviews peppered throughout this 2011 film lay bare the grating backdrop of transphobia within athletics, and in the world at large. Throughout the documentary, discourse around Renée’s transition is not interwoven with her athleticism, but rather overwhelms it, and she is often trying to steer the conversation back to her performance as a player; “I’m a woman like everyone else, ask me how the match went instead” she responds to one reporter. The unflinching film captures the struggle, resilience, pain, and grace of this pioneer.
Being Serena
By Noah Lerner
2018, Documentary Series
This docu-series captures the life of the iconic tennis player Serena Williams as she goes through pregnancy, birth, and new motherhood. While she is one of the most celebrated female athletes in history, with 39 grand slam titles, four Olympic gold medals, and countless other awards to her name, she has gone most of her career allowing her performance to speak for itself, rather than drawing attention to her personal life. In this series, Serena not only brings the personal into the public, but she reveals a side of herself that has until now remained entirely unknown. The show’s focus is on the person behind the player; it disrupts the singular image of Serena the tennis star and prioritizes humanity over perfection.