Iranian Film Offside Screens Outdoors at Lonsdale Quay June 25
Deckchair Cinema hosts Jafar Panahi's 2006 comedy about women defying stadium ban; free admission by donation, live music, concessions.
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Jafar Panahi's guerrilla-shot 2006 film Offside screens outdoors June 25, at Cates Deck outside The Polygon Gallery on the Lonsdale Quay waterfront—a perfectly timed choice as Iran begins World Cup play and Vancouver celebrates the tournament.
The film follows a group of young women who disguise themselves as boys to watch Iran take on Bahrain in the 2005 World Cup qualifying round. Throughout, Panahi uses the absurdity of their situation to mock patriarchal misogyny, as the women constantly outwit bewildered guards and police. Panahi filmed it guerrilla-style at an actual stadium during a real match—a fearless move that led Iran to ban the film.
It's an apt screening in context: though women are now technically permitted to watch football in Iran (after years of being barred, with enforcement limited and heavily restricted), the struggle Panahi captured in 2006 remains raw. The film resonates even more after Mahsa Amini's death in police custody in 2022 sparked the Woman. Life. Freedom. movement.
Deckchair Cinema, now in its fifth summer, runs Thursdays through summer at the waterfront right in front of the Polygon Gallery. Entertainment and concessions start at 7 p.m.; the film starts at 9:25 p.m. Admission is by donation. Attendees bring their own chairs, though some seating is provided. Live music and food from Nook accompany screenings, with drinks from Strathcona Beer Company.
After Offside, the series continues July 2 with Stephen Chow's kung-fu-powered Shaolin Soccer as part of The Polygon's World Cup-inspired sports-film programming.