World premiere: Thorsten Körner’s homage to the pioneers of women’s football MÄDCHEN KÖNNEN KEIN FUSSBALL SPIELEN opens the anniversary of 11mm

The international soccer film festival 11mm is celebrating its 20th edition and invites film and soccer fans from April 24 to 28, 2025 to Berlin for a diverse program. The program kicks off with the world premiere of Thorsten Körner’s documentary film GIRLS CAN’T PLAY SOCCER (Germany 2025). On Thursday, April 24 director Thorsten Körner is expected to join producer Antje Boehmert, the team and numerous protagonists at the new venue, the Colosseum Filmtheater Berlin. The best feature films, documentaries and short films with unforgettable football moments, legendary characters and incredible stories about football will then take center stage there until April 28.

11mm founder Birger Schmidt and new co-festival director Frank Albers and their team are looking forward to celebrating twenty years of presenting outstanding films about the fascination of football. “The festival will focus on various new international releases, a special program for children and young people and a series entitled ‘Female Footballers: Stories of Passion and Triumph’.”

Opening film – GIRLS CAN’T PLAY FOOTBALL

It sounds unbelievable, but in 1955 the DFB banned its clubs from allowing women to play soccer on their pitches. This rousing documentary tells the story of the female footballers who refused to accept such bans and fought for their passion. Cunning and undaunted, they found ways to defy the DFB’s male alliances and still play. And the women in the GDR were also confronted with officials who did not promote their sport and at best wanted to allow it a “wall flower existence”. Here, too, there were pioneering women who, with perseverance, dedication and love for football, proved that girls could play football after all. The montage of the film creates an inspiring dialog between the narrators and the finds from the archive. This entertaining and informative journey through time is of profound relevance as long as equality in society has not been achieved.

MÄDCHEN KÖNNEN KEIN FUSSBALL SPIELEN is a production by DOCDAYS Productions on behalf of rbb, MDR, NDR, HR and WDR for ARD.

The director, author and journalist Thorsten Körner has already delivered “a wonderful homage to combative East German women” (Thorsten Mack, ttt – titel, thesen, temperamente) with DIE UNBEUGSAMEN 2 (2024). His documentary SCHWARZE ADLER about Afro-German national soccer players was shown in the 11mm 2022 program, among others.

Photo 1: The Christa Kleinhans team, 1963 / Copyright: Christa Kleinhans

Photo 2: The FRG women at the 1st international match, 1982 / Copyright: Picture Alliance