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 World Cup
-
No Place For You In Our Town
Directed by Nikolay Stefanov • Documentary • 2022 • 81 minutes
No Place for You in Our Town pulls the audience into the heads of the football hooligans from the roughest city in Bulgaria — Pernik. A once flourishing industrial center, today all that’s left is the urban legend about its citizens’...
-
One Step From Glory
Directed by Fabrice Macaux • Documentary • 2020 • 53 minutes
Le Havre Athletic Club (HAC) training center is one of the best and most demanding in Europe, the oldest club in French football.
Abdel, 18, is entering a decisive year; the last in the center for this young footballer. The challenge ...
-
Sunday Ball
Directed by Eryk Rocha • Documentary • 2014 • 64 minutes
In Rio de Janeiro, close to the mythical Maracanã stadium, stage of the 2014 World Cup grand final, we find the popular field in the Sampaio neighborhood. Football happens there as a genuine expression of Brazilian culture. Played on Sunda...
1 Comment