MARINETTE
VIRGINIE VERRIER | FRANCE | 2023 | 93 MIN | FRENCH S.-T.EN.
Marinette Pichon was the first French women’s and men’s footballer to sign a professional contract in the U.S., and is considered to be the first star of women’s football in France. This energetic biopic traces the life of one of the best French soccer players of all time, and her lifelong struggle to be treated equally in a country to which she has given so much.
Born into a modest household where two young girls and their mother lived with an alcoholic and violent father, Marinette was drawn to football from an early age. Dropping out of school at 16 to devote herself to her passion, she suffered several setbacks and tried to reconcile odd jobs and training until she was selected for the French national team. Spotted by the coaches of a major American club, Marinette flew to the U.S., where she gained worldwide recognition and discovered that she could love whoever she wanted, without hiding. Adapted from Marinette Pichon’s autobiography (Ne jamais lâcher rien, 2008), Marinette looks back at the career of a pioneer, one of the first top French sportswomen to come out as a queer.
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