MARINETTE

West Coast Premiere | France | 2023 | Biopic, Drama | 96 min | In French with English subtitles
Directed by: Virginie Verrier
Written by: Virginie Verrier
Based on the Book by: Marinette Pichon
Produced by: Virginie Verrier (Vigo Films), Marie Besançon (Beside Films), France 3 Cinéma
Cinematography: Xavier Dolléans
Film Editing: Jérôme Bréau
Original Score: Jean-Fabien Dijoud
Cast: Garance Marillier (Marinette Pichon), Émilie Dequenne (the mother), Alban Lenoir (the father), Fred Testot (coach Brienne), Sylvie Testud (coach Saint-Memmie), Caroline Proust (coach French team), June Benard (young Marinette)
International Sales: Pulsar Content
International Distributor: HAGO 

An intimate portrait of real-life soccer legend Marinette Pichon, Marinette recounts the highs, lows and ongoing struggles of a stellar athlete’s career.  A pioneer in the world of French Sports, Pichon held the record — in terms of football goals, for both men and women — for two decades, to become the first French player (male or female) to go pro in the United States, playing for the Philadelphia Charge for two seasons and earning both Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards.  She made strides as a lesbian athlete, well before the LGBTQ banner was accepted, and fought hard to spread awareness about gender discrimination and women’s rights in French sports. Her story is an uncompromising ode to drive and personal freedom.

Virginie Verrier is a graduate of the Conservatoire libre du cinéma français. After directing two short films, she directed 78 episodes of the French series Our Crazy Family (2017-18), before writing, directing and producing her first feature, À 2 heures de Paris (2018). In 2018, she also produced Olivier Fely-Biolet’s documentary film, Ces traces qui restent. Marinette, her second feature, made its US début at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.