After Atalanta

At this year's Tribeca Film Festival, a new documentary about the life of Dr. Renee Richards will make its debut. ESPN sponsors its own sport film festival within the festival and Renee is one of the 33 films in the line up. The documentary explores "the story of Renée Richards, the first transgender tennis player to compete in the women’s US Open." I am pretty sure she is the only transgender athlete to compete in the women's US Open--or in any grand slam. This seems to counter prevailing notions that "things are getting better." And one might even argue that there has been a certain regression since Richards played in the 70s. Last year around this time the story of German tennis pro Sarah Gronert made news in the US. Gronert is intersex (she has wrongly been referred to as transgender ). And despite surgery and much jumping of hoops for the WTA, Gronert is still facing a lot of criticism. Apparently her serve is (according to one opponent's coach) he...

I saw a very cute, very French movie last night, The Closet . If you want to know the plot, you can google it, I am sure. The point is that one homophobic guy serves as his company's rugby coach. But he is on notice not to engage in anymore gay slurs because of newly out colleague. He gets the no-no when he calls his team sissies, then complains that sissy is not a gay slur--it's just rugby talk. I am not going to beat to this to death--like I said, it was a cute, light movie--but I find that a lot of the problem with homophobia in sport is the language that is perpetuated by coaches and players alike--and that is never called out. I am not saying anything new, of course. But there are other ways to say it and other perspectives and some of those are available this week! SUNY Binghamton kicks off its own gay pride week today and I think its notable that It Takes a Team director Pat Griffin is giving the keynote address. Tomorrow night (Tuesday) Griffin is moderating a panel of ...

I was just talking to a friend the other day about how roller derby is such a hot topic in sport studies because it's a great venue for examining gender roles, subversion, aggression, alternative sport, sexuality, and a host of other things. And of course the forthcoming (I cannot wait!!) Whip It with Juno star Ellen Paige and directed by Drew Barrymore will draw even more critical and popular attention to the sport. Unfortunately, with the recession, roller derby has been experiencing some problems. Most articles about sport and the recession have focused on keeping fans in the stands, but this one is about keeping players in the rink. Roller derby is not a professional sport--the players do not get paid. They have to finance their own gear, travel expenses, and health coverage. And we all know what kind of a state health care is in these days. And even though some players could skate by (pardon the pun) on multiple part-time gigs, if they are without health care, roller derby i...

The documentary Kick Like a Girl will air at 6pm (ET) on HBO. This is the television premiere of the film which I highly recommend. The filmmaker, Jenny Mackenzie, is also one of the "stars" as a mother who coaches her daughter's youth soccer team as they play a season in the boys' league.

Doubt it, but I am still glad that there is a documentary in the works about the female ski jumpers' battle with the IOC for inclusion in the winter games. Virginia Madsen's Title IX Productions is part of the project which will be called Fighting Gravity . No word on the film's estimated time of arrival.

The 18th Annual Brattleboro (VT) Women's Film Festival starts today. There are a few films that might be of interest to readers of After Atalanta. (I think even the non-sports ones look good, too though--so, check out the full schedule. Proceeds from event(s) go to Brattleboro Women's Crisis Center.) A movie I have talked about several times--and also seen several times, now--Kick Like a Girl--is part of the festival line-up. A complement to Kick is a documentary about Patsy Mink , the Hawaiian senator after whom Title IX was renamed a few years ago. (I took a little exception to the description of Mink as "the driving force behind Title IX," but I still think the documentary, which is about her life in politics, is probably still worth seeing.) The movie, though, that really looks good is Thin Ice , a documentary about a group of girls in India who form an ice hockey team. Ice hockey! (Note that I still have not seen the movie about field hockey in India. Note to sel...

So in addition to the totally cool ski jumping event happening this weekend, there are other interesting events coming to New England in February. Nest week, Jenny Mackenzie, who did the documentary "Kick Like a Girl" is coming to the area. She will be screening the film and speaking at UConn on Tuesday the 17th at 7. The next day, the 18th, the film will be in Northampton, MA for KidsBest Fest , a children's film festival. (Not sure if Mackenzie herself will be there as well.) The movie will also be screened at the Brattleboro (VT) Women's Film Festival in March. On Tuesday the 24th , the Boston Breakers coach and former national team coach Tony DiCicco will be speaking about "positive sports coaching" at Masconoment High School in Boxford, Massachusetts. Too bad there has to be a special talk on positive coaching--one would thinking the coaching should always be positive but, of course, most of us know this not to be the case. That's what I've got ...

On Saturday I did a 5K that benefited a local organization that helps women and their families who have been victims of domestic violence. And though there was a snazzy mug designed by cartoonist Hilary Price who writes and draws Rhymes with Orange , I was actually pleased that the proceeds (over $55,000 I heard) went to a local charity and was put together largely by donations from local businesses. So many charity runs spend a lot of money on advertising and prizes/gifts that, in the end, take away from the actual charity. In the afternoon I managed to catch all of the NBC special on the Paralympics. I thought it was good. A good mix of stories in terms of sports participated in, type of disability, race, age, and "success" at the Beijing Games. Of course the producers could not have known the outcomes when they chose the athletes--not entirely at least--so this may have been more chance than not. There was a good segment on how China has become more aware and accommodating...

I had heard about this movie that was going to be about a gay NHL player so long ago I practically forgot about it. Okay, I did forget about it--until last week when I got an email (see, sometimes being on listservs really does pay off!) saying that Breakfast with Scot was screening in my area on Saturday. But it's no wonder I had forgotten about it. I blogged about the production, which had just started, two years ago. Here's some of what I said then: ...how do we even know the film will do a good job in its treatment of homosexuality? Will it rely on stereotypes and poor parodies? Will it do enough and do well enough to actually engender changes in opinion? I can be pretty harsh (shocker, I know) on media generally and movies in particular about their treatments of homosexuality. And so I was pleasantly surprised to leave the screening Saturday evening saying "yeah, that was a good movie." And then I wondered if I wasn't being too uncritical or in some kind of ...

1. If you live in Maine--well Maine is a big state--if you live near Waterville, ME, I should say, then go tomorrow at noon to The Center to see a screening of the documentary Kick Like a Girl and a chance to hear and talk to co-producer Jennifer Jordon. It's not that I think I have a great following in Maine, this news item was just a good chance and a reminder to me that I needed to mention and extol the virtues of this film which I ordered myself and watched over a month ago. The documentary was directed and shot (largely) by Jenny Mackenzie who is the coach of her daughter Lizzie's soccer team in Salt Lake City. The team, after beating soundly every team in their league one year decided to try their luck in the boys' division. The film chronicles their season. And it's very compelling. I showed it in my sport sociology class and we were running out of class time and no one was moving. I turned it off when class time was up and I actually heard complaints: "Bu...

The movie Gracie about a high school girl who tries out for the boys' soccer team (inspired by the memory of her dead brother) came out last May. I finally got around to seeing it last night. It was bad. I wanted it to be good; but it just wasn't. It was very predictable. As my fellow movie-watcher noted, "when a movie starts out with a sentimental, touching scene between siblings you know one of them is going to die." And cliched: there was an injured bird in a cage that the (now dead) brother was trying to nurse back to health. Gracie, the devoted little sister, released it at the end and it flew away. And guess who scores the winning goal against the team they lost to in the previous season's championship? Well I won't ruin the movie for you. And a little unrealistic. Gracie was based loosely on the childhoods of Andrew and Elisabeth Shue, both soccer players/fans who have roles in the movie. The movie is set in the 1970s--Gracie evokes Title IX when argu...

This review from an Indian paper explains the plot of the movie Chak de! India in great detail. I have heard the plot is fairly predictable but if you are interested in preserving some mystery you might want to skip this one. But the review does actually talk about the flaws of the film which is something I haven't seen yet. The reviewer is particularly displeased that the film places the blame for the decline in (field) hockey's popularity with the surge in cricket's popularity. And of course it also lists the high points including its adherence to the reality of the state of women's sports in India where even national teams have to contend with sub-par facilities. And good news for me: I found the movie showing in a theater 35 minutes away. I think it may be worth the trip.

A new film about women's hockey (field hockey for Americans) in India is scheduled for release soon. Not sure when it will be hitting American movie theaters but keep an eye out for Chak de India which director Shimit Amin calls a "sister" film to movies Bend it Like Beckham and A League of their Own . Amin spoke of the importance of bringing attention to women's sports which receive hardly any attention in India but also highlighting hockey, a national sport that receives second billing to cricket. Amin hopes the film will stir up some patriotism and some admiration for female athletes. The article gives no indication of a plot but Amin promises there will be a lot of sports action and thinks it will do well outside of India because of the Western world's obsession with sports and their extreme fandom. Addendum: I found the Times review which 1) gave more info on the plot--it actually has one and it looks interesting and 2) that the film opened in the U.S. yest...

I haven't gotten a chance to see Gracie because no cinema in my area is playing it yet. (Shrek III and Pirates of the Caribbean (also in its third installment) are monopolizing the theaters.) But reviews and other articles about the film are trickling in. This review of the movie in which a high school girl tries to make the boys' soccer team (it's pre- or early Title IX years) to honor the memory of her dead soccer superstar brother is not so hot on the movie. [Sorry, I lost the link. I will post it when I find it.] From what I have heard about the movie, which despite my interest in the subject matter, seems fairly predictable, the review is probably not too far off. More of the back story about the movie is emerging. I learned from the above linked review that the "based on a true story" is actually based on Elisabeth Shue's, who plays the mother, own childhood. [And a sidenote on the note: according to this month's TENNIS magazine, Elisabeth Shue is ...

Saw an ad for a new movie about women and sports, Gracie , coming out June 1. I watched the trailer at the website and it looks good. It's about a high school girl who wants to join the boys' team after her brother, the star player, dies. It appears to take place maybe in the 70s because there was no girls' team for her to play on. It is not hiding the fact that it is a feel-good feature, but I am trying not to hold that against it. When I see it, I will report back.

Actor Tom Cavanaugh, probably most famous for his eponymous role in Ed, is currently filming a movie about an ex-pofessional hockey player who is gay. This article from the Toronto Star writes about the groundbreaking aspects of the film which focuses not just on the star's homosexuality but that of a young boy whom he and his partner have recently taken guardianship of. The big issue of course is a gay hockey player. No male professional hockey player has ever come out--during or after his career. Cavanaugh said he himself was shocked to read that his character, Eric McNally, is a gay man. But the more shocking aspect to the film, according to those involved, is that the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs agreed to let the team name and logo be used in the film. Some filming will even take place at the end of a Maple Leafs practice session. I agree with the general sentiment that this is pretty big news. The NHL and Maple Leafs could easily have said no and probably no mainstream p...