Directed by Isabel Achaval, Chiara Bondi • Documentary • 2022 • 83 minutes
On the outskirts of Rome, six teams compete in the women’s soccer championship, the Las Leonas Trophy. All recent immigrants to Italy—the majority from South America—the participants work busy lives as caregivers and house cleaners throughout the city.
LAS LEONAS follows the daily struggles, dreams, and frustrations of these women; each with their own story of emigration and family history, but united by a shared passion for soccer. Amidst the pressures of work and loneliness of adapting to life in a foreign country, the championship offers a vital source of freedom and social belonging. From seasoned players to newbies, the women of LAS LEONAS find themselves transformed on the soccer field as the demands of daily life fade into the background with the liberating rush of comradery and competition.
“A film that gives 80 minutes of hope.” —La Repubblica
Up Next in The Sporting Life
-
64 Day Hero: A Boxer's Tale
Directed by Franco Rosso • Documentary • 1985 • 92 minutes
In this compelling and thought-provoking documentary, sports writer and novelist Gordon Williams uses archive footage, as well as interviews with family members and friends, to investigate the troubled life of the mixed-race British boxi...
-
Geek Girls
Directed by Gina Hara • Documentary • With Stephanie Harvey, Anita Sengupta, Rachel Weil • 2017 • 83 minutes
Nerdy women - the "hidden half" of fan culture - open up about their lives in the world of conventions, video games, and other rife-with-misogyny pop culture touchstones. While geek commu...
-
Long Distance Swimmer: Sara Mardini
Directed by Charly Wai Feldman • Documentary • 2023 • 89 minutes
At 20, Sara was already famous. She fled Syria in 2015 with her younger sister Yusra. When their boat broke down as they were crossing the sea to Greece, Sara and Yusra and two others jumped into the waves and swam for three and a ...
1 Comment