Film review – copa 71
Copa 71 (M)
Directed by: James Erskine, Rachel Ramsay
Starring: Elvira Aracen, Brandi Chastain, Birte Kjems
Review by: Julian Wright
Directors James Erskine and Rachel Ramsay uncover a long-buried event and milestone in women’s sport with heartwarming and heartbreaking results.
Not that we would know it now, but women’s sport was once thriving, with clubs bursting with female members and players, and matches drawing huge crowds.
There was even enough demand for women’s sporting competitions, that a Women’s Soccer World Cup was held in Mexico, in 1971, decades before FIFA sanctioned its first in 1991.
The pioneering women from the international teams that participated in this event, which played out in a packed 110,000 capacity stadium, finally have a chance to tell their story; the dizzying highs and devastating lows.
This is a crowd-pleasing documentary if ever there was one, with a cast of loveable interviewees eloquently relaying their memories with cheeky humour and pathos, nail-biting archival footage and enough injustice to leave one frustrated, but also with a sense of hope.
These powerhouse women are such lovely company to keep that you feel you could listen to more stories. The camaraderie between them is just beautiful and something you rarely see among male athletes.
There is a sense of melancholy as this documentary ends, for all the potential talent buried, opportunities missed and dreams unfulfilled because a handful of men decided to quash women’s sport.
Had women been allowed to continue, the landscape of sporting could be completely different today; possibly more inclusive, open and supportive.
One of the more shocking revelations to all of this is that not even current women’s world cup champions had never heard of this chapter of sporting history.
This is one piece of history you will want to learn; watch it and share it.
Copa 71 is playing as part of Perth Festival Lotterywest Films from November 20 – 26
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