At this point I’ve gently accepted that I will not win March Around The World this year, and that is okay. I am at peace 😌. I’ll just keep watching cool movies from around the world in the meantime.
Director Marwa Zein filmed this documentary in secret for four years - the Sudanese government at the time banned her from making it. She follows the lives of women who want to play professional football - in America it’s soccer but I’ll keep saying football here - in defiance of a ban by the Sudanese Islamist military government. The documentary feels so earnest and a true peak into their lives. I don’t know how else to say it - I would be friends with all of these women, they all seem super cool.
Obviously the film talks about patriarchy since it is the main driver of why this group of women don’t receive funding and get scolded when they play, but the movie also shows the struggles of North and South Sudanese relations and broader SWANA struggles (“Are we Arab? If we go to Saudi Arabia, they’ll tell us we aren’t Arab!”). It also shows a lot of fun, sweet moments, like the support of a male footballer and a woman showing young girls photos of her playing football. It’s just a nice documentary that shows the lives of these women and their society without judgement. It’s a bit avant-garde at times but I still appreciate it.
March Around The World 2026 - Sudan
At this point I’ve gently accepted that I will not win March Around The World this year, and that is okay. I am at peace 😌. I’ll just keep watching cool movies from around the world in the meantime.
Director Marwa Zein filmed this documentary in secret for four years - the Sudanese government at the time banned her from making it. She follows the lives of women who want to play professional football - in America it’s soccer but I’ll keep saying football here - in defiance of a ban by the Sudanese Islamist military government. The documentary feels so earnest and a true peak into their lives. I don’t know how else to say it - I would be friends with all of these women, they all seem super cool.
Obviously the film talks about patriarchy since it is the main driver of why this group of women don’t receive funding and get scolded when they play, but the movie also shows the struggles of North and South Sudanese relations and broader SWANA struggles (“Are we Arab? If we go to Saudi Arabia, they’ll tell us we aren’t Arab!”). It also shows a lot of fun, sweet moments, like the support of a male footballer and a woman showing young girls photos of her playing football. It’s just a nice documentary that shows the lives of these women and their society without judgement. It’s a bit avant-garde at times but I still appreciate it.
March Around The World 2026 - Sudan
