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“Marinette” is the story of Marinette Pichon, a pioneer of women’s football. Virginie Verrier’s film retraces her career, her fights which have contributed to advancing the situation of women in sport, but also her fights behind the scenes, facing an abusive father.
1992. A teenager stands out on the soccer fields in the Champagne countryside. With the help of her mother and a benevolent coach, Marinette Pichon escapes the grip of an alcoholic and violent father, before becoming a football phenomenon. Thirty years later, this story is brought to the big screen by Virginie Verrier. Usually, the 7th art is not very interested in the life of sportswomen, but the director has decided, for her second feature film, to adapt the autobiography of the champion. “The abused childhood particularly affected me. The trajectory of this kid that nothing predestined to meet the ball-round”she explains.
This film, as a symbol a few days before the Women’s World Cup
In the 90s and 2000s, she was the great player for the France team and scored 81 goals for Les Bleues. Since the end of her career, she has contributed to the media coverage of women’s football as a consultant, but also through a book and a film. “It was the possibility of continuing to convey important messages. Social messages that change the mindset of people and the opinion of some young people”, says the retired player. To embody it, Garance Marillier, who had never played the role of a sportswoman, finds herself in this feminist and committed character. The film comes out a few weeks before the Women’s World Cup during which the heirs of Marinette Pichon will try to win their first world title this summer.