Episode one of the Beautiful Game feature-length film series, Shadow Game , tells a moving story about equality of women in Sports. Despite cultural and financial hurdles, the number of girls playing soccer in South America and elsewhere is on the rise.
Marta’s story begins at the age of 14 during a three day bus ride to Rio de Janeiro to pursue her love of soccer. Fast forward, fifteen years later, with two Olympic Silver Medals under her belt, and considered the best female player of all time, Marta is returning to Rio to lead the Brazil National Team in pursuit of Olympic Gold in the first Olympics ever to be held in South America.
Marta’s story and International women’s soccer are inextricably bound. The success of the U.S. Women’s National Team and its celebration at the White House not only inform Marta’s story, they are part and parcel of the international women’s sports story she has helped to write. Today, Marta lives and plays professional soccer in Sweden. As five-time consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year and a UN Ambassador for Sports Development, Marta’s achievements belie the reality of Brazil as the “soccer nation except for women.” The stakes and stakeholders in the Olympic story in Brazil, including a solid public discussion of feminist issues, are enormous.
The Beautiful Games series is being developed and produced by Counterweight Production, LLC. There are four feature documentary films focusing on the magic of Brazilian soccer and the individuals who play the game.
