“Las Leonas”, football and redemption: female players from around the world and a championship of dreams and freedom

“I don’t feel like I belong to Italy. I’m Italian, I’m not Moldovan anymore.” Ana, who wears the number 10 shirt, was born in Moldova but plays in the blue shirt, her choice is clear: “The values ​​are those given by my mother from respect, but its manners and way of life I take them from the Italian way of life.”

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From the documentary made by Nanni Moretti and presented at the Venice Film Festival, a docuseries was created, which will be aired in two afternoons on Rai3 on December 28 and January 4. Las Leonas – The world cup of the directors Isabel Achaval e Chiara Bondi it is a story of – to use the words of the protagonists – “passion, dream, freedom”. The protagonists are women of all nationalities, who live and work in Italy and play football in their free time, lions in life and on the pitch. As the speaker talks about their preparation, their journey to the World Cup defines them, players who proudly wear the shirt of their country of origin or the country that adopted them.

Eight women’s teams from different corners of the Earth, four in Rome and four in Turin, will face each other in a women’s football championship to win the World Cup. A group of Iranian players, a group of Russian-speaking players (so Ukrainian, Kazakh, Russian…), an Italian team and then a Salvadoran, a Paraguayan, a Brazilian, a an Argentine and an Ecuadorian group. Wearing the shirt of your country of origin, or your adopted country, will be a source of pride for each of our players. There is a girl from Cape Verde, and because of the linguistic proximity she plays in the Brazilian team “I have been here for three months when I met the girls, in Italy they are my family” she said as she brought her son woman in the park and explained the reasons why she had to break up with the man she was with.

The docuseries, through interviews and stories, examines the history of many of these women: where they were born, when they arrived in Italy, what work they did, their families of origin and the got it. While the teams fight for this important recognition, the public enters the lives of these sportswomen out of love. “We want to tell the stories of some foreign women with a passion for football – explain the directors – Because when we see them playing on the pitch something special happens. As if by magic they fly after of the ball. The football pitch is transformed like this in a moment of redemption of society and represents the achievement of a desire that has no place in life outside the playing field we want to say the feeling of freedom and happiness which these women passed on to us.

One film is not enough, it takes a lot of time. “Each protagonist has its own color and tone – explain the directors – Some have more dramatic stories, some more entertaining, some more romantic, to create a chorus of heterogeneous and different voices, like to make the story a dramaturgy full of conflicts to be resolved, tensions, crises, twists and turns, in short comic, moving and tragic elements at the same time. Naturally, as always, the football, competition and the stakes are the common thread of the story. Thus the two episodes, the in-depth analyzes and the enthusiasm of the game, dictate the rhythm of a story that will excite even those who are not interested in football of women.