MÄDCHEN KÖNNEN KEIN FUSSBALL SPIELEN (Girls cannot play soccer)

The programme will kick off with the world premiere of Torsten Körner's documentary MÄDCHEN KÖNNEN KEIN FUSSBALL SPIELEN (Germany 2025).


On Thursday 24 April, director Torsten Körner will be joined by producer Antje Boehmert, the team and numerous female protagonists at the new venue, the Colosseum Filmtheater Berlin.


Until 28 April, the best feature films, documentaries and short films with unforgettable football moments, legendary characters and incredible stories about football will take centre stage there.


11mm founder Birger Schmidt and his new co-festival director Frank Albers and their team are looking forward to celebrating twenty years of presenting outstanding films about the fascination of football. ‘The festival will focus on various new international releases, a special programme for children and young people and a series entitled ‘Female Footballers: Stories of Passion and Triumph'.’

World premiere: Torsten Körner's homage to the pioneers of women's football MÄDCHEN KÖNNEN KEIN FUSSBALL SPIELEN opens the anniversary of 11mm

It sounds unbelievable, but in 1955 the DFB forbade its clubs to allow women to play football on their pitches. This rousing documentary film tells the story of the female footballers who refused to accept such bans and fought for their passion. Cunning and fearless, they found ways to defy the DFB's men's organisation and still play. And the women in the GDR were also confronted with officials who did not promote their sport and at best wanted to allow it a ‘wall flower existence’. Here, too, there were female pioneers who, with perseverance, dedication and love for football, proved that girls could play football after all. The montage of the film creates an inspiring dialogue between the narrators and the finds from the archive. This entertaining and informative journey through time is of profound relevance as long as equality in society has not been achieved.


MÄDCHEN KÖNNEN KEIN FUSSBALL SPIELEN is a production by DOCDAYS Productions on behalf of rbb, MDR, NDR, HR and WDR for ARD.


With DIE UNBEUGSAMEN 2 (2024), director, author and journalist Torsten Körner has already delivered ‘a wonderful homage to militant East German women’ (Thorsten Mack, ttt - titel, thesen, temperamente). His documentary SCHWARZE ADLER about Afro-German national football players was shown in the 11mm 2022 programme, among others.


MÄDCHEN KÖNNEN KEIN FUSSBALL SPIELEN
Germany 2025, 90 Min.

A film by
TORSTEN KÖRNER

Producer
ANTJE BOEHMERT

editor
RONALD RIST

Production Designer
KNUT SCHMITZ

Archive Producer
JANNE GÄRTNER

Music Producer
STEFAN DÖRING

Sound design & mixing
JOCHEN VOERSTE

recording management
STEFANIE KAISER
ARNDT FEHL

Producers
NELE HUFF
ANTJE BOEHMERT

Production Manager DOCDAYS
KO MIKLIK

Editorial Consultancy
CARINA SOPHIA LINNE

Editorial office
ROLF BERGMANN (RBB)
ANAÏS ROTH (MDR)
RAIKO RICHTER (MDR)
MARC BRASSE (NDR)
SABINE MIEDER (HR)
THOMAS KAMP (WDR)

https://berliner-filmfestivals.de/festival/11mm/

Further information on the exact start/time on 24 April and the programme will follow.

11 Millimeter - Internationales Fußballfilmfestival | visitBerlin.de