The biopic “Marinette”, directed by Virginie Verrier, will be released in theaters on June 7. Through the story of Marinette Pichon, Virginie Verrier explores “violence against women, her coming out, her homosexuality, her meeting with her wife who is disabled, emancipation through sport”.
“I overcame all these obstacles in my life”testifies, in the Club info of franceinfo, Sunday, May 21, the former French footballer Marinette Pichon before the release of her biopic. Marinettedirected by Virginie Verrier, will be released in theaters on June 7. “It’s a point of pride, it’s also a great meeting between Virginie and me, and then the desire of two women to carry loud and clear impactful messages which, we hope, will change certain views of society”continues the former French international.
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Marinette Pichon is the first French player to have had a career in the United States and to have been crowned best player and top scorer. She held the record for a very long time, men and women alike, for goals scored in the France team. Through the story of Marinette Pichon, Virginie Verrier explores the “violence against women, his coming out, his homosexuality, his meeting with his wife who is disabled, emancipation through sport”. The director explains, on franceinfo, that this film is “a course like a message of hope, very positive”.
“I know my life and yet I went through this extremely violent emotional elevator. A few days after the private broadcast, it was complicated, because it brought back a lot of memories”says Marinette Pichon. “But in the end, I was like ‘wow I’ve overcome all these obstacles in my life'”she concludes.
A “lack of infrastructure” in France for women’s football
If she “feels like some things have been done” to put an end to inequalities between female and male footballers, Marinette Pichon admits that in France “we are still far from what countries like England and Spain have just achieved” with their professional women’s leagues. The former player regrets the “lack of infrastructure” for women’s football.
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Marinette Pichon currently lives in Canada where she will commentate matches of the Women’s World Cup, which takes place from July 20 to August 20 in Australia. “I have already received all the posters with matches which are however at 3:45 am, 10:15 am, so I do not believe it is a question of programming”, she comments about the broadcast of matches in France. Less than two months from its kickoff, the competition still has no broadcaster in France.
“I sincerely hope that FIFA will react to lower the access rights and allow broadcasters who want to come and buy the rights”, says Marinette Pichon. For the former footballer, it is necessary “so that we move forward and that we do not suffer from this gray area, which we have been trying to get our heads out of for decades.”