August 24, 2023 • 34 mins
In the summer of 2021, the world watched in disbelief as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Among the countless lives forever altered by this tragic turn of events, a group of young women footballers from the U18 Afghanistan National Women’s Football Team found themselves facing a perilous crossroads.
Faced with an unthinkable choice – surrender their dreams and their freedoms, or undertake a daring escape from their homeland of Kabul.
On this episode we explore this unbelievable story and welcome a special guest who brought this extraordinary story to life in a powerful documentary. Director of “Ayenda” Marie Margolius is here to discuss her film and the lives of these remarkable young women footballers and their courageous escape.
Episode Links:
Listen to Episode 220 – https://wwfshow.com/2023/08/22/episode-220-womens-world-cup-special-sam-kerr-millie-bright-olga-carmona/
More WWFShow Links:
Follow Women’s World Football Show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and our blog at wwfshowblog.com.
Listen to Women’s World Football Show on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Spreaker, TuneIn Radio, Google Play, Castbox, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and direct from our website at www.WWFShow.com.
Original Broadcast Date: August 24, 2023
Women’s World Football Show is hosted, written, edited, and produced by Patty La Bella.
Additional assistance for this episode by Marie Margolius and Eric Osuna
Women’s World Football Show website design and theme music by Patricia La Bella
Women’s World Football Show® is a registered trademark and its audio and logo cannot be used without expressed written authorization.
Faced with an unthinkable choice – surrender their dreams and their freedoms, or undertake a daring escape from their homeland of Kabul.
On this episode we explore this unbelievable story and welcome a special guest who brought this extraordinary story to life in a powerful documentary. Director of “Ayenda” Marie Margolius is here to discuss her film and the lives of these remarkable young women footballers and their courageous escape.
Episode Links:
Listen to Episode 220 – https://wwfshow.com/2023/08/22/episode-220-womens-world-cup-special-sam-kerr-millie-bright-olga-carmona/
More WWFShow Links:
Follow Women’s World Football Show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and our blog at wwfshowblog.com.
Listen to Women’s World Football Show on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Spreaker, TuneIn Radio, Google Play, Castbox, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and direct from our website at www.WWFShow.com.
Original Broadcast Date: August 24, 2023
Women’s World Football Show is hosted, written, edited, and produced by Patty La Bella.
Additional assistance for this episode by Marie Margolius and Eric Osuna
Women’s World Football Show website design and theme music by Patricia La Bella
Women’s World Football Show® is a registered trademark and its audio and logo cannot be used without expressed written authorization.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
In the summer of twenty twenty one, the world watched in disbelief as the
Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Amongthe countless lives forever altered by this tragic
turn of events, a group ofyoung women footballers from the U eighteen Afghanistan
national women's football team found themselves facinga perilous crossroads, faced with an unthinkable
choice surrender their dreams and their freedomsor undertake a daring escape from their homeland
(00:30):
of Kabul. On this episode,we explored this unbelievable story and welcome a
special guest who brought this extraordinary storyto life in a powerful documentary. Director
of Allenda Marie Margolaz is here todiscuss her film and the lives of these
remarkable young women footballers and their courageousescape. Get ready for a roller coaster
(00:51):
right of emotions. Let's do it. This is Women's Roll Football Show.
Everyone. Welcome to episode two twentyone of Women's World Football Show. I'm
your host, Patti Labella. Iknow what you're thinking. Man. We
(01:12):
don't hear from you in a month, and then all of a sudden,
you drop two episodes on us inone week. I know that's what you're
thinking. Well, it's a specialweek. Of course, we took a
month off during Women's World Cup andI couldn't wait to get all those great
sound bites to you from players andcoaches. If you haven't listened to episode
two twenty yet, go back andlisten to it. If you love Sam
(01:33):
Kerr, Caitlin Ford, Milly Bright, Olga Carmona and many of the other
stars in the twenty twenty three Women'sWorld Cup, it's all there on episode
two twenty. And in fact,I'll put the link on the show notes,
so i'll you can do is clickif you want to go back and
listen to it. But I reallywanted to get this episode out before August
twenty seventh, when this extraordinary documentaryI Enda premieres on MSNBC here in the
(01:55):
States, because it's a story thatneeds to be heard. And is privileged
to have the opportunity to watch thefilm in a pre screen and let me
just tell you, it's it's alot of things. It's emotional, you
know, it's just powerful and justa film I think should be on everyone's
watch list, as football fans,as women's football fans, you know,
(02:17):
as human beings. It's just anamazing and heartbreaking and at the same time
inspiring. I mean, just allthe emotions. And if you're listening to
this episode after August twenty seven,when it premieres on MSNBC, the film
will be available via streaming on Peacockthereafter, so no worries about missing it.
(02:38):
We try to stay very evergreen onthis show, but sometimes you know
it's warranted to break the mold,like releasing two shows in one week.
We're here to break the mold,I guess. And I'm just so honored
and thrilled to introduce our guest MarieMargolas to you who also, by the
way, this film has a lotof star power backing it, like Trevor
Noah is one of the producers,amongst so many others including Rashida Jones.
(03:02):
And it's no wonder so many influentialpeople jumped on board and wanted to be
part of this film because it istruly amazing. I mean, I'm going
to run out of relevant adjectives here, because it's just an incredible story with
soccer as a backdrop. Because thesegirls, and by the way, they
are girls. The Afghan Youth Nationalteam. I know I try to stay
(03:24):
away from the term girls when talkingabout women footballers, but literally these are
young girls. So we're talking likefifteen, sixteen, seventeen year olds at
the time who saw the Taliban cominginto their hometown, taking over their town
of Kabul and taking over the countryand understanding what that meant as far as
(03:44):
their freedoms to live, the livesthey wanted to live, and the lives
they deserve to live, just basicfreedoms just about to be ripped from them.
I mean, you know, theirright to go to school, to
study, to play sports, tochase their dreams, and for these girls
to represent their country through football,and they took their soccer skills, the
skills many of us who played anysport really have, those skills of teamwork,
(04:08):
strategy, communication, determination, andnot to mention, sacrifice to escape
from their Taliban occupied homeland. Justa harrowing story and for many of us
listening just unfathomable and watching the film, you'll just it's hard to wrap your
brain around. So, like Isaid, we have a great guest director
(04:32):
of the film, Marie Margolaz ishere who, by the way, as
a soccer player herself. Our formersoccer player. She was a star defender
at Harvard from twenty eleven twenty fourteen. Before that, she was a multi
sport athlete in high school growing upin New England. And I think you'll
find in this interview that Murray tookher own soccer skills to task when making
this film, because not only obviouslydoes she love the sport and you know
(04:55):
she's invested, but she had toearn the trust of these young girls because
they put their life stories and raisehands, and most of the footage we
see throughout the film comes from cellphones and video taken by the players before,
during, and after the escape.So I think, I mean,
I know, I know in life, we're all putting to the right place
(05:16):
at the right time. And Ijust feel Marie definitely was the right person
for this job because the players didsee her as kind of a comrade,
a fellow soccer player, you know, in a seasoned storyteller who could give
their stories a voice. So manyinteresting stories here, I'm telling you,
So let's not delay anymore. Pleasewelcome the director of Iyenda, Marie Margolis.
(05:39):
Hi, Marie, thank you somuch for coming on the show to
talk about this amazing documentary just tellingthis incredible story of the Afghanistan You Do
eighteen women's national football team. Thisreally showcases the determination and bravery of these
young women as well as kind ofthe behind the scenes of how this great
escape took place. It's powerful andit's an important film, and so we're
(06:01):
so happy and honored to have youhere to discuss it with us. So
thanks for coming on. Well,thanks for having me. I'm so happy
to be here. Well, beforewe talk about this incredible and inspiring documentary,
tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and how did
you become aware of this story ofthe Afghanistan U eighteen women's national team.
Yeah, so I have played soccermy whole life through and even after college
(06:26):
a little bit, and worked atESPN for quite a while after school,
and so I have always sort ofbeen plugged into the sports world. And
two years ago, when the USwithdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban took over,
there were a lot of people whoselives were in pretty grave danger,
(06:53):
and women who played music, wentto school, played sports were particularly high
on that list. And so,you know, all all this news coverage
was coming out about groups of peoplewho were trying to escape, and so
I just started doing some digging withfor colleagues of mine at ESPN. Actually,
(07:15):
one of my first calls was toJulie Fowley, who was a co
worker of mine at ESPN and justso plugged into what's happening in the soccer
world. And I was just tryingto understand why these women were in such
danger for playing a sport, asport that I love so much and it's
such a core piece of who Iam. Just sort of hard to wrap
(07:36):
my head around. So I starteddoing some digging and eventually bought myself in
touch with one of the folks whowas sort of at the center of this
operation to get the youth national teamout, and so I had a conversation
with him and he got me upto date on what they were trying to
(07:57):
do and the fact that the girlswere on their way to port Or they've
got an asylum, and he invitedme to come, and so a day
later I got on a plane,flew to Portugal and started filming with the
girls. Wow, what a greatstory that you have. Like you said,
you have an accomplished career in film. This is your directorial debut,
right, yeah, yeah it is. And and I actually I had left
(08:22):
ESPN by the time I started pursuingthe story, and so this was an
independent effort with you know, mynew production company, Words and Pictures,
and my boss Connor Shehell encouraged meto pursue it, and then Time Studios
and MSNBC and the amazing partners thatcame on board thereafter. This is basically
(08:46):
a labor of love. Like yousaid, you're a soccer fan, but
also you're a human being, youknow, and this goes beyond I think
spartan. Of course, we'll talkabout that in a minute, but yeah,
just the remarkable you know, Ihave to tell you, the story
is so moving within that the firstthree minutes of the film, I was
bawling. I was crying because there'sso many like the words and I'm getting
(09:07):
like Tiri eyed again because the wordsof these these young girls, what they
say is I mean, it resignateswith us. Like when the young players
said football is life. I meanI would just like hearing because that's something
we all understand, you know,that's something that we can't. Like you
said, how do you wrap yourbrain around something like you know, a
(09:28):
couple of months before they were outthere playing and living their lives and you
know, and you know, havingthose basic freedoms and now you know it's
being taken away from them. Asa filmmaker, like, how do you
approach this balance of I mean,you put elements of sport, of human
resilience, and then not to mentionthe geopolitical challenges of the film, how
(09:48):
did you try to balance all ofthat or did it just come like organically
together. Yeah, I mean,I'm not an expert on Afghanistan United States
relations. It's been a complicated geopoliticalsituation that's been going on essentially my entire
life. So there was no waythat I was going to try and tackle
(10:09):
with the level of journalistic kind ofintegrity and knowledge that was being done elsewhere.
So for me, the focus wasreally on telling the human side of
the story. Like you said,I again, as a soccer player myself,
I know what it means to lovesomething and love a game so much
(10:33):
that you would do anything to keepdoing it. And so the risk that
these girls took just to be ableto maintain that aspect of who they are
and what they love, I thoughtwas incredible. And so that's what I
leaned into. You can't tell astory like this unless you have the trust
from the people who you're telling itabout, and so I really made an
(10:58):
effort to get to know the girlsas humans and tell their story. You
know, there's so many things aboutit that's so universal, you know,
the aspects of family that are inthis story, and identity and the lengths
you'll go, like I said,to continue doing something that you love.
And so those were the things reallythat I tried to lean into, rather
(11:20):
than some of those bigger geopolitical aspectsof the story. Yeah, that's interesting
that you say that, because wedo get to know these players like on
such a personal level, and alot of times the stories being told through
their own cell phones, like justfootage that they're taking, which I think
is so powerful. We talk aboutthis a lot on this show, and
of course our listeners are very awareof the way that women's soccer has become
(11:45):
kind of like a driving force fora lot of important topics and events,
and women's soccer offenserves as a kindof this unifying force and all kinds of
stories, and like I said,this goes beyond soccer. But why do
you think that women's soccer in particular, and as a soccer player yourself and
a lover of the game, whydo you think it lends itself to this
(12:07):
kind of overcoming adversity and like thisunwavering bond that you know that we see
in like so many different stories.I mean we I mean, this isn't
about you know, fighting with thefederation or trying to get equal pay or
getting equipment. This is about lifeor death, you know, And this
is at the core, like thebackdrop of this is women's soccer. So
why do you think that that kindof lends itself to overcoming adverse Yeah,
(12:33):
being a female athlete is hard,no matter where you live. I've been
reminded of this watching the World Cuprecently. Like some of these federations didn't
have women's teams until recently, alot of them still don't. And so,
I mean, even the level offight and resilience it takes to earn
respect as a female athlete in theStates is high. And so for these
(13:00):
girls growing up in a society whereyou know, it's not only not respected,
but it's actually forbidden in a lotof cases, of course, they
had to be resilient like of course, they're asked their role as women's soccer
players was paramount to their ability toescape and to save their lives. Some
(13:22):
of the girls and a lot ofthis, you know, this didn't make
it into the film, but oneof the girls told me a story about
and they all sort of have similarstories to this, But one of the
girls told me a story about,you know, she was identified as a
talented young player by the federation andso was invited to play on the team.
(13:46):
And she asked her dad, andher dad said, no, absolutely
not, You're not playing. We'renot doing that. You know. It's
there's a level of shame that comeswith being a female athlete in Afghanistan,
but she was determined to do itanyways. And so she tells the story
of how she made it to thetryout for the Afghan youth national team,
(14:09):
and she basically did it with hermom's help. Her mom packed her soccer
bag, they came up with anelaborate lie for how she was staying at
school late to study. Her mommet her behind their house, kind of
tossed her soccer bag over the fenceand helped her pay for her bus fare
to go try out for the team. And so again, like the determination
(14:33):
and bravery that these girls had tohave just to play soccer in the place
that they lived was extraordinary, andso I think it was a huge aspect
of why they were able to makethis daring escape of their home. I
mean, it's just so I feellike I've heard the story. It's a
(14:56):
powerful story, but I feel likethis happened so off in countries all over
the world. And I mean,while it's great, especially during right now
we're celebrating the Women's World Cup andwe're watching some of these countries like Morocco,
like a lot of the African countries, that it's so hard for these
girls just to get out and playand then to make it to this level,
and we should be celebrating it,but there's these other places in the
(15:18):
world. It's like you're explaining,it's just it's forbidden, it's looked down
upon. It's a struggle for thesegirls just to kick a ball. It's
just it's mind boggled. Name youknow, this is not a happy story.
Yes they're safe, Yes they're playingsoccer, they're going to school.
(15:39):
There's a lot of bright spots anda lot for these girls to look forward
to and their future is bright,but reality is like they were forced to
leave their homes and it wasn't somethingthey wanted to do. There wasn't a
big celebration when they got to Portugal, you know, like you saw at
the end of the film, it'sreally bittersweet when they take off from Afghanistan.
(16:00):
It's their home, it's everything theyknow, it's where they want to
be, but they can't. Andso I think there were moments like that
where I had to sort of switchfrom filmmaker mode to just human mode,
and towing that line can be challengingand fraught, and so there were plenty
of those where it just sort ofhit me how difficult this was on so
(16:25):
many different levels that you might noteven think of on the surface of this
story as a viewer. I mean, I think that that related really well
because it isn't It is a rollercoaster of emotions, like there is like
joy, there's heartbreak, there's it'sjust all different types of emotions. And
I think, yeah, when theywhen the plane actually leaves Afghanistan, like
you're yack, yeah, they gotout. But then at the same time,
(16:48):
there's kind of like this, uhyou know, you know that that's
you know, they're leaving. Whatthey're leaving is their home and their families
and and just I mean so thatreally, I mean, it comes across
you know, it's just it's justit's otbreaking story. And the other thing
that I thought about, too iswhen they were taking off are when they
at the end where you are inPortugal, and I kept thinking, wow,
you know we remember the Afghanistan seniorteam, the women's national team,
(17:11):
Like where are those girls? Likewe're all the other girls. You know,
It's like it's heartbreaking. And it'snot just soccer players, like you
say, it's education, freedom,just to be a human being, you
know, it's like what happens now. And I think one of the players
that in the film, like whenthey're taking off, she says like we're
leaving for now. I thought that. I mean that like was so I
mean, I'm still getting I stillget emotional because it's like the story isn't
(17:34):
ending, is it. Do youfeel like there's another part of the story
that needs to be told And hopefully, I mean hope that things change.
But I just, yeah, Imean I think that that exact player that
you're referencing. She and I arein contact quite often. Her name Sadoff.
She's amazing. She is one ofthe most natural born leaders I've ever
(17:59):
met, and she is so determinedto go back to Afghanistan. I rewatched
one of my interviews with her andLot recently and she said she had this
line that again didn't make the film, but that struck me where she said,
you know, I hope to returnto Afghanistan someday with knowledge and achievements
(18:22):
and my hands full of gifts.I don't want to return to a broken
country. I want to return toa peaceful Afghanistan. And in the meantime,
you know, I essentially hope tomake it a better place. And
like, I believe her. She'sgonna do it. She's like one of
the smartest, most resilient people I'veever met, and so when she says
(18:48):
it, you were like, youhave no choice but to believe her.
So I don't know what the nextchapter of the story is for them.
For now, I think they're justtrying to do their best to acclimate to
life in a brand new place,in a culture that they don't know,
with a language that they don't speak, and that is challenging in and of
itself, but I do think there'syou know, a return or you know,
(19:11):
something for these girls in the futurethat we just we just don't know
will surprise us and in the bestway. And I think that's why this
film is so important. And theother thing too that I love. I
mean, there's so many things Ilove about this documentary, but with soccer
as a backdrop, and like thesewere young players, these are these were
youth national team players. It alwaysstill to this day, just it's it's
(19:37):
inspiring and it's surprising at the sametime that these that it's always these young
soccer players. They have this mindsetof just like not giving up. And
we talk about how much sport,how important sport is in young women's lives,
and how that teaches teamwork in strategy, and we see this throughout the
film and so many different different levels, even working with the government officials working
(20:03):
together to get them out and thenyou know, just their bond and their
way they communicate with each other toyou know, to set up this you
know, great escape. How importantdo you think that that unified mindset,
you know, helped in getting thegirls out and were literally just time running
out just like a soccer match,you know, just that that working together
and that strategy on so many levels. Is how important was that? Do
(20:26):
you think? I think it waseverything. I think these girls had such
a strong community in one another.If they were attempting this on their own,
I think I don't know that anyonecould have done it, but I
think they gave each other strength.I think they all knew that one mistake
by one of them could cost theirfriends and teammates in ways that I can't
(20:52):
even imagine, and so I thinkit was incredibly important. You know.
Another Sadaf story that I love isshe at a particularly difficult moment after one
of the failures of them trying toget out, her dad basically said,
and this is in the film,her dad basically said, We're not doing
(21:15):
this. This is it's too dangerous. We've tried, it's not going to
happen. Give it up, essentially, and Sadaf said to him, you
can stay if you want, butessentially, me and my teammates have decided
that we're getting out. And shesaid, I would rather die than stay
in Afghanistan, So I'm going toleave with my teammates and you can do
(21:37):
whatever you want, but that's that. And I just thought that was like
the I know she's I mean,she's a badass. She's like, I'm
doing this and you can get onboard or not. But again, I
think the reference to her teammates iswhat gave her that strength. So yeah,
I think it couldn't have been moreimportant. You talk about your close
(21:59):
with Sadaf. Are there other girlsthat you stay in contact with? You
know how they're doing today and doyou know if they've seen the film or
their reaction to the film. Yeah, Sadaf and I did become particularly close.
She from the very beginning was reallyenthusiastic about making this film and being
a part of it, and wasexcited to tell her story, And so
(22:22):
I think she and I just becameclose naturally because of her enthusiasm. Yeah,
she and I talked regularly, butI also talked to a lot of
the other girls. A lot ofthem are still in Portugal, some of
them are in Germany. Their refugeeexperience is incredibly hard, to say the
least, and so while they certainlyare making the best of it in Portugal,
(22:44):
I think they're all trying to figureout where they can have the most
economic opportunity, and so for somepeople that's not in Portugal. So for
those folks, they've left. Butyou know, all the girls are in
school, they're playing, they're they'replaying together. They actually Racunda just brought
them to the Gophia Cup, whichis the youth World Cup in Sweden,
(23:08):
and they had, by all accountswhat they've told me, the time of
their lives. And so they're doinggreat, you know, And like I
said, they are. Their futuresare bright. They'll be good. It's
hard and it's been hard, butthey yeah, they have a bright future
for sure. Have any of themseen the film? Are they? Udolf
(23:29):
has seen the film. She lovedit. She called me with the tears
in her eyes and was thrilled withhow it came out. But I hope
that I get to show the filmto the girls at some point on a
big screen, like I think itwould be really special, and I'm nervous,
obviously, I want to. Ihope that they feel good about how
(23:51):
I've brought their story to life onscreen, So hopefully we can make that
happen. You do such a greatjob at intertwining these personal narratives and then
plus, like we were saying,like the broader sociopolitical issues, what do
you hope that people take away fromthe film and how do you hope it
contributes to discussions surrounding like you know, gender equality, human rights, you
(24:12):
know, the role in shaping societalchanges which we discussed here. How do
those conversations take place? Yeah,I mean, I think the format of
a documentary film kind of lends itselfto a longer tail than a lot of
the news coverage that we all consumedaround Afghanistan. And so there was a
(24:33):
lot of conversation, a lot ofcoverage about the Taliban to take over when
it happened, then even in themonths that followed. But you know,
like everything else that comes and goes, and so I hope that this film
can just be a reminder that thisis still happening in Afghanistan. There are
(24:53):
a lot of people who were forcedto leave their homes and are reckoning with
that, you know, to nottake our eye off the ball, like,
not forget about these people. Ithink that's what makes me the most
sad is people get riled up andcare and motivated for a short period of
time when the news cycle is youknow, happening, but then it kind
(25:18):
of fades, and so I'm reallyglad that, you know, two years
after the Taliban take over this film, we'll get to see the light of
day and kind of remind people thatthis is happening. Like I know,
it's hard to imagine when you know, we live in the United States and
we're especially watching the World's Cup andit all feels so awesome, and all
(25:40):
of these African countries are having somuch success, and countries where the federations
are brand new and historically women thesupport of women's football hasn't been there,
is there, and you know,there's a lot to celebrate. There's also
a long way to go, andso just not forgetting about that is what
I hope people take away from thiswell thanks to you and also putting a
(26:03):
face on it too. I mean, to get to know these players on
a personal level, you almost feelinvested in them. And then also,
like I said, I saw apicture of the other day of just Caliban
enforced the Burkah's and all these womenand all you see is their eyes and
I was thinking to myself, thosecould be soccer those are maybe the soccer
team. Maybe they're doctors, youknow, maybe what scientists, you know,
(26:26):
what were they before that? Andit's heartbreaking and it's really I mean
the fact that you put a faceon it and that you're telling the story.
I mean, we so appreciate that, you know, we get the
word out as much as we canabout it, because, like I said,
it is important film. Tell ourlisteners how how to watch this film,
and most importantly, you know,how we can share it with our
friends and family and are you know, politicians and anybody we can share it
(26:48):
with, our support it in anyway. How can we do that? Yeah.
So the film premiers on MSNBCNE onAugust twenty seven, and will be
available on streaming on Peacock thereafter.Yeah, I appreciate anything you can do
to spread the word. We're excitedand hope that this resonates with a big
audience. I think it will.I mean, it's it's a miracle that
(27:10):
those girls got out. When youwatch this film, you're like, how
did they do that? And thentheir family coming over like how did they
do that? I don't you know, I don't know, but all the
credit to them, all the creditto you, I mean, as women's
soccer fans. Of course, thisis a horrific story about as human beings.
It's really sad, and hopefully thisfilm inspires a new generation. And
like the title says, it meansthe future, right, that's right,
(27:30):
yeah, And it's actually the girl'steam name that they've sort of adopted,
as you said, Afghanistan. They'renot technically the youth you know, the
Afghanistan team anymore. There is nofederation for them to play for, and
so they have sort of taken onthis name. I end up as a
tribute to the future that they andAfghanistan will have. And that's all we
(27:55):
have is the future. So hopefullyit's right brighter than what we're seeing now.
Marie, thank you for the storylight and for lending your filmmaking talents
to such an incredible event, andthanks for coming by and sharing it all
with us. We really really appreciateyou well. Thank you for having me,
this was great, and appreciate yoursupport of the girls and the film.
(28:15):
So I've had the privilege of interviewingsome amazing guests on this show.
You know that if you've been around, if you've been here for the past
ten years, and I've interviewed somevery inspiring women this year, I mean,
telling some amazing stories. But Ihave to tell you, I've never
had goosebumps throughout an entire interview likeI did with this one. I mean
(28:38):
throughout the interview, just crazy.And I was thinking about it. I
was like, I wonder why,And I think I just attribute it to
this story, this incredible story.I've run out of adjectives. Chat,
gupt give me some adjectives. Ihave no more. But I mean,
right, I mean the story ofthese girls. I mean what they want
(29:00):
and through we know the story,but this film really humanizes it because we
get to know these girls on apersonal level. And the whole time I'm
watching this film, and you'll probablyfeel this way too, I'm thinking,
Wow, this kid could be fromMission Gaejo, California, or wherever,
from wherever, from your hometown.I mean, we see ourselves in these
(29:22):
girls. We see our daughters inthese girls. Girls just who love soccer,
who love their families, their brothersand their sisters, and seeing this
just all taken from them, youknow, but they did something about it.
It's just nothing short of a miraclethat they got out. I mean
truly they're walking miracles and it's alldocumented in this film. It just unbelievable.
(29:44):
I was telling Marie after the interview, this story couldn't have been told
twenty years ago or before. Becausethe girls, like like most teenagers around
the world, have cell phones,and then the film everything they're filming,
everything that they're going through at thetime, so we get to see their
journey, you know, happen likein real time, and they communicate through
(30:06):
what's app, you know, sono one can listen in on their calls
or read their texts. I mean, just smart, smart girls and just
so full of determination. I don'tplug too many things on this show,
but I'm plugging this film. Iencourage everyone to watch it. It's called
Ayenda, it's spelled a y en DA, premiering on August twenty seventh
on MSNBC here in the States andthen streaming on Peacock there after I think
(30:30):
August twenty eighth or so, andthen then you can go ahead and put
it on your Peacock list of thingsto watch and don't and don't hesitate,
really go go in and watch thisshow. The executive producers, I'll have
to mention our Trevor Noah, Libbygeist, Aaron Cohen, Mark me Otto,
Ian Oh, I'm gonna mess upIan's name, but Ian Arafa Rafiica.
(30:52):
It's an Italian, I should sayit right, right, I'm Italian?
Right, FITCHA, how's that?Lauren Hammond's Alexa Conway, Elizabeth Waller and
Rashida Jones oh and Amanda Spain,all the executive producers and associate producer Hannah
Beer, and of course directed byMarie Markolz, which it's so great to
hear from her. It's a thirtynine minute film, the most memorable thirty
(31:14):
nine minutes still experience watching a film. I think it's a story we won't
forget. We can't forget, youknow, and hopefully this film in some
way helps keep that story alive.Just a great thing. Hey. I
want to give a big thanks toMarie for taking it time to visit with
us, especially during this busy timefor her. And also big thank you
to Eric Osuna for arranging that interview. Thanks Eric for your help and hard
(31:36):
work. Appreciate you. We'll bepromoting this episode of course, like we
always do on social media, andthen when we do, especially after the
documentary, airs. Let me knowwhat you think of the film, or
end this story in the comments whereveryou follow us on social I'd love to
just hear your thoughts, not onlyon this episode, but on the film
and on the stories in the film. We need to keep, like I
(31:56):
said, we need to keep theconversation going and not forget at these girls
and what they went through and whatthey're still going through. Right. We
heard Marie say the story is notover, just so inspiring and unforgettable.
I think chat cheept just run outof adjectives for me, so I can't.
I can't talk about it anymore.But I'm sure you'll have your own
after watching this film for sure.I really hope you enjoyed this episode,
(32:21):
episode two twenty one of Women's WorldFootball Show. I would love to hear
your thoughts on my interview with MarieMargolas. Feel free to email me at
Patty atwtwfshow dot com. I readall the emails and do my best to
apply in a timely manner. Ifyou did enjoy this episode, subscribe now
on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadioapp, Google Play, tuned In,
cast Box, Spreaker, Stitcher,wwfshow dot com or wherever you're listening to
(32:43):
this right now, and if youreally really enjoy listening to Women's World Football
Show, one of the best waysyou could show your appreciation is to give
us a five star rating and leavea review wherever you listen. I always
love to know your thoughts and reviewsare the best ways for others to find
the show. Also, another wayto help grow the show and grow this
beautiful game that we love is totell your friends and family about Women's World
Football Show. If you're listening ona mobile device, swipe up over the
(33:06):
cover art and you'll find the episodenotes, including some details you me hymnist.
For relative links from this episode,visit our show notes on WWF show
dot com. Connect with us onTwitter, Facebook, and Instagram at WWF
show, and follow me on Instagramat p Labella. Women's World Football Show
is hosted, written, edited andproduced by Patti Labella. That's Me.
Additional assistance for this episode by MarieMargolas and Eric Osuna. And thank you,
(33:30):
especially you for joining me on thisexciting journey through women's football. Stay
strong, stay mindful, and keeploving your heart. We'll see yall next time.
In the summer of twenty twenty one, the world watched in disbelief as the
Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Amongthe countless lives forever altered by this tragic
turn of events, a group ofyoung women footballers from the U eighteen Afghanistan
national women's football team found themselves facinga perilous crossroads, faced with an unthinkable
choice surrender their dreams and their freedomsor undertake a daring escape from their homeland
(00:30):
of Kabul. On this episode,we explored this unbelievable story and welcome a
special guest who brought this extraordinary storyto life in a powerful documentary. Director
of Allenda Marie Margolaz is here todiscuss her film and the lives of these
remarkable young women footballers and their courageousescape. Get ready for a roller coaster
(00:51):
right of emotions. Let's do it. This is Women's Roll Football Show.
Everyone. Welcome to episode two twentyone of Women's World Football Show. I'm
your host, Patti Labella. Iknow what you're thinking. Man. We
(01:12):
don't hear from you in a month, and then all of a sudden,
you drop two episodes on us inone week. I know that's what you're
thinking. Well, it's a specialweek. Of course, we took a
month off during Women's World Cup andI couldn't wait to get all those great
sound bites to you from players andcoaches. If you haven't listened to episode
two twenty yet, go back andlisten to it. If you love Sam
(01:33):
Kerr, Caitlin Ford, Milly Bright, Olga Carmona and many of the other
stars in the twenty twenty three Women'sWorld Cup, it's all there on episode
two twenty. And in fact,I'll put the link on the show notes,
so i'll you can do is clickif you want to go back and
listen to it. But I reallywanted to get this episode out before August
twenty seventh, when this extraordinary documentaryI Enda premieres on MSNBC here in the
(01:55):
States, because it's a story thatneeds to be heard. And is privileged
to have the opportunity to watch thefilm in a pre screen and let me
just tell you, it's it's alot of things. It's emotional, you
know, it's just powerful and justa film I think should be on everyone's
watch list, as football fans,as women's football fans, you know,
(02:17):
as human beings. It's just anamazing and heartbreaking and at the same time
inspiring. I mean, just allthe emotions. And if you're listening to
this episode after August twenty seven,when it premieres on MSNBC, the film
will be available via streaming on Peacockthereafter, so no worries about missing it.
(02:38):
We try to stay very evergreen onthis show, but sometimes you know
it's warranted to break the mold,like releasing two shows in one week.
We're here to break the mold,I guess. And I'm just so honored
and thrilled to introduce our guest MarieMargolas to you who also, by the
way, this film has a lotof star power backing it, like Trevor
Noah is one of the producers,amongst so many others including Rashida Jones.
(03:02):
And it's no wonder so many influentialpeople jumped on board and wanted to be
part of this film because it istruly amazing. I mean, I'm going
to run out of relevant adjectives here, because it's just an incredible story with
soccer as a backdrop. Because thesegirls, and by the way, they
are girls. The Afghan Youth Nationalteam. I know I try to stay
(03:24):
away from the term girls when talkingabout women footballers, but literally these are
young girls. So we're talking likefifteen, sixteen, seventeen year olds at
the time who saw the Taliban cominginto their hometown, taking over their town
of Kabul and taking over the countryand understanding what that meant as far as
(03:44):
their freedoms to live, the livesthey wanted to live, and the lives
they deserve to live, just basicfreedoms just about to be ripped from them.
I mean, you know, theirright to go to school, to
study, to play sports, tochase their dreams, and for these girls
to represent their country through football,and they took their soccer skills, the
skills many of us who played anysport really have, those skills of teamwork,
(04:08):
strategy, communication, determination, andnot to mention, sacrifice to escape
from their Taliban occupied homeland. Justa harrowing story and for many of us
listening just unfathomable and watching the film, you'll just it's hard to wrap your
brain around. So, like Isaid, we have a great guest director
(04:32):
of the film, Marie Margolaz ishere who, by the way, as
a soccer player herself. Our formersoccer player. She was a star defender
at Harvard from twenty eleven twenty fourteen. Before that, she was a multi
sport athlete in high school growing upin New England. And I think you'll
find in this interview that Murray tookher own soccer skills to task when making
this film, because not only obviouslydoes she love the sport and you know
(04:55):
she's invested, but she had toearn the trust of these young girls because
they put their life stories and raisehands, and most of the footage we
see throughout the film comes from cellphones and video taken by the players before,
during, and after the escape.So I think, I mean,
I know, I know in life, we're all putting to the right place
(05:16):
at the right time. And Ijust feel Marie definitely was the right person
for this job because the players didsee her as kind of a comrade,
a fellow soccer player, you know, in a seasoned storyteller who could give
their stories a voice. So manyinteresting stories here, I'm telling you,
So let's not delay anymore. Pleasewelcome the director of Iyenda, Marie Margolis.
(05:39):
Hi, Marie, thank you somuch for coming on the show to
talk about this amazing documentary just tellingthis incredible story of the Afghanistan You Do
eighteen women's national football team. Thisreally showcases the determination and bravery of these
young women as well as kind ofthe behind the scenes of how this great
escape took place. It's powerful andit's an important film, and so we're
(06:01):
so happy and honored to have youhere to discuss it with us. So
thanks for coming on. Well,thanks for having me. I'm so happy
to be here. Well, beforewe talk about this incredible and inspiring documentary,
tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and how did
you become aware of this story ofthe Afghanistan U eighteen women's national team.
Yeah, so I have played soccermy whole life through and even after college
(06:26):
a little bit, and worked atESPN for quite a while after school,
and so I have always sort ofbeen plugged into the sports world. And
two years ago, when the USwithdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban took over,
there were a lot of people whoselives were in pretty grave danger,
(06:53):
and women who played music, wentto school, played sports were particularly high
on that list. And so,you know, all all this news coverage
was coming out about groups of peoplewho were trying to escape, and so
I just started doing some digging withfor colleagues of mine at ESPN. Actually,
(07:15):
one of my first calls was toJulie Fowley, who was a co
worker of mine at ESPN and justso plugged into what's happening in the soccer
world. And I was just tryingto understand why these women were in such
danger for playing a sport, asport that I love so much and it's
such a core piece of who Iam. Just sort of hard to wrap
(07:36):
my head around. So I starteddoing some digging and eventually bought myself in
touch with one of the folks whowas sort of at the center of this
operation to get the youth national teamout, and so I had a conversation
with him and he got me upto date on what they were trying to
(07:57):
do and the fact that the girlswere on their way to port Or they've
got an asylum, and he invitedme to come, and so a day
later I got on a plane,flew to Portugal and started filming with the
girls. Wow, what a greatstory that you have. Like you said,
you have an accomplished career in film. This is your directorial debut,
right, yeah, yeah it is. And and I actually I had left
(08:22):
ESPN by the time I started pursuingthe story, and so this was an
independent effort with you know, mynew production company, Words and Pictures,
and my boss Connor Shehell encouraged meto pursue it, and then Time Studios
and MSNBC and the amazing partners thatcame on board thereafter. This is basically
(08:46):
a labor of love. Like yousaid, you're a soccer fan, but
also you're a human being, youknow, and this goes beyond I think
spartan. Of course, we'll talkabout that in a minute, but yeah,
just the remarkable you know, Ihave to tell you, the story
is so moving within that the firstthree minutes of the film, I was
bawling. I was crying because there'sso many like the words and I'm getting
(09:07):
like Tiri eyed again because the wordsof these these young girls, what they
say is I mean, it resignateswith us. Like when the young players
said football is life. I meanI would just like hearing because that's something
we all understand, you know,that's something that we can't. Like you
said, how do you wrap yourbrain around something like you know, a
(09:28):
couple of months before they were outthere playing and living their lives and you
know, and you know, havingthose basic freedoms and now you know it's
being taken away from them. Asa filmmaker, like, how do you
approach this balance of I mean,you put elements of sport, of human
resilience, and then not to mentionthe geopolitical challenges of the film, how
(09:48):
did you try to balance all ofthat or did it just come like organically
together. Yeah, I mean,I'm not an expert on Afghanistan United States
relations. It's been a complicated geopoliticalsituation that's been going on essentially my entire
life. So there was no waythat I was going to try and tackle
(10:09):
with the level of journalistic kind ofintegrity and knowledge that was being done elsewhere.
So for me, the focus wasreally on telling the human side of
the story. Like you said,I again, as a soccer player myself,
I know what it means to lovesomething and love a game so much
(10:33):
that you would do anything to keepdoing it. And so the risk that
these girls took just to be ableto maintain that aspect of who they are
and what they love, I thoughtwas incredible. And so that's what I
leaned into. You can't tell astory like this unless you have the trust
from the people who you're telling itabout, and so I really made an
(10:58):
effort to get to know the girlsas humans and tell their story. You
know, there's so many things aboutit that's so universal, you know,
the aspects of family that are inthis story, and identity and the lengths
you'll go, like I said,to continue doing something that you love.
And so those were the things reallythat I tried to lean into, rather
(11:20):
than some of those bigger geopolitical aspectsof the story. Yeah, that's interesting
that you say that, because wedo get to know these players like on
such a personal level, and alot of times the stories being told through
their own cell phones, like justfootage that they're taking, which I think
is so powerful. We talk aboutthis a lot on this show, and
of course our listeners are very awareof the way that women's soccer has become
(11:45):
kind of like a driving force fora lot of important topics and events,
and women's soccer offenserves as a kindof this unifying force and all kinds of
stories, and like I said,this goes beyond soccer. But why do
you think that women's soccer in particular, and as a soccer player yourself and
a lover of the game, whydo you think it lends itself to this
(12:07):
kind of overcoming adversity and like thisunwavering bond that you know that we see
in like so many different stories.I mean we I mean, this isn't
about you know, fighting with thefederation or trying to get equal pay or
getting equipment. This is about lifeor death, you know, And this
is at the core, like thebackdrop of this is women's soccer. So
why do you think that that kindof lends itself to overcoming adverse Yeah,
(12:33):
being a female athlete is hard,no matter where you live. I've been
reminded of this watching the World Cuprecently. Like some of these federations didn't
have women's teams until recently, alot of them still don't. And so,
I mean, even the level offight and resilience it takes to earn
respect as a female athlete in theStates is high. And so for these
(13:00):
girls growing up in a society whereyou know, it's not only not respected,
but it's actually forbidden in a lotof cases, of course, they
had to be resilient like of course, they're asked their role as women's soccer
players was paramount to their ability toescape and to save their lives. Some
(13:22):
of the girls and a lot ofthis, you know, this didn't make
it into the film, but oneof the girls told me a story about
and they all sort of have similarstories to this, But one of the
girls told me a story about,you know, she was identified as a
talented young player by the federation andso was invited to play on the team.
(13:46):
And she asked her dad, andher dad said, no, absolutely
not, You're not playing. We'renot doing that. You know. It's
there's a level of shame that comeswith being a female athlete in Afghanistan,
but she was determined to do itanyways. And so she tells the story
of how she made it to thetryout for the Afghan youth national team,
(14:09):
and she basically did it with hermom's help. Her mom packed her soccer
bag, they came up with anelaborate lie for how she was staying at
school late to study. Her mommet her behind their house, kind of
tossed her soccer bag over the fenceand helped her pay for her bus fare
to go try out for the team. And so again, like the determination
(14:33):
and bravery that these girls had tohave just to play soccer in the place
that they lived was extraordinary, andso I think it was a huge aspect
of why they were able to makethis daring escape of their home. I
mean, it's just so I feellike I've heard the story. It's a
(14:56):
powerful story, but I feel likethis happened so off in countries all over
the world. And I mean,while it's great, especially during right now
we're celebrating the Women's World Cup andwe're watching some of these countries like Morocco,
like a lot of the African countries, that it's so hard for these
girls just to get out and playand then to make it to this level,
and we should be celebrating it,but there's these other places in the
(15:18):
world. It's like you're explaining,it's just it's forbidden, it's looked down
upon. It's a struggle for thesegirls just to kick a ball. It's
just it's mind boggled. Name youknow, this is not a happy story.
Yes they're safe, Yes they're playingsoccer, they're going to school.
(15:39):
There's a lot of bright spots anda lot for these girls to look forward
to and their future is bright,but reality is like they were forced to
leave their homes and it wasn't somethingthey wanted to do. There wasn't a
big celebration when they got to Portugal, you know, like you saw at
the end of the film, it'sreally bittersweet when they take off from Afghanistan.
(16:00):
It's their home, it's everything theyknow, it's where they want to
be, but they can't. Andso I think there were moments like that
where I had to sort of switchfrom filmmaker mode to just human mode,
and towing that line can be challengingand fraught, and so there were plenty
of those where it just sort ofhit me how difficult this was on so
(16:25):
many different levels that you might noteven think of on the surface of this
story as a viewer. I mean, I think that that related really well
because it isn't It is a rollercoaster of emotions, like there is like
joy, there's heartbreak, there's it'sjust all different types of emotions. And
I think, yeah, when theywhen the plane actually leaves Afghanistan, like
you're yack, yeah, they gotout. But then at the same time,
(16:48):
there's kind of like this, uhyou know, you know that that's
you know, they're leaving. Whatthey're leaving is their home and their families
and and just I mean so thatreally, I mean, it comes across
you know, it's just it's justit's otbreaking story. And the other thing
that I thought about, too iswhen they were taking off are when they
at the end where you are inPortugal, and I kept thinking, wow,
you know we remember the Afghanistan seniorteam, the women's national team,
(17:11):
Like where are those girls? Likewe're all the other girls. You know,
It's like it's heartbreaking. And it'snot just soccer players, like you
say, it's education, freedom,just to be a human being, you
know, it's like what happens now. And I think one of the players
that in the film, like whenthey're taking off, she says like we're
leaving for now. I thought that. I mean that like was so I
mean, I'm still getting I stillget emotional because it's like the story isn't
(17:34):
ending, is it. Do youfeel like there's another part of the story
that needs to be told And hopefully, I mean hope that things change.
But I just, yeah, Imean I think that that exact player that
you're referencing. She and I arein contact quite often. Her name Sadoff.
She's amazing. She is one ofthe most natural born leaders I've ever
(17:59):
met, and she is so determinedto go back to Afghanistan. I rewatched
one of my interviews with her andLot recently and she said she had this
line that again didn't make the film, but that struck me where she said,
you know, I hope to returnto Afghanistan someday with knowledge and achievements
(18:22):
and my hands full of gifts.I don't want to return to a broken
country. I want to return toa peaceful Afghanistan. And in the meantime,
you know, I essentially hope tomake it a better place. And
like, I believe her. She'sgonna do it. She's like one of
the smartest, most resilient people I'veever met, and so when she says
(18:48):
it, you were like, youhave no choice but to believe her.
So I don't know what the nextchapter of the story is for them.
For now, I think they're justtrying to do their best to acclimate to
life in a brand new place,in a culture that they don't know,
with a language that they don't speak, and that is challenging in and of
itself, but I do think there'syou know, a return or you know,
(19:11):
something for these girls in the futurethat we just we just don't know
will surprise us and in the bestway. And I think that's why this
film is so important. And theother thing too that I love. I
mean, there's so many things Ilove about this documentary, but with soccer
as a backdrop, and like thesewere young players, these are these were
youth national team players. It alwaysstill to this day, just it's it's
(19:37):
inspiring and it's surprising at the sametime that these that it's always these young
soccer players. They have this mindsetof just like not giving up. And
we talk about how much sport,how important sport is in young women's lives,
and how that teaches teamwork in strategy, and we see this throughout the
film and so many different different levels, even working with the government officials working
(20:03):
together to get them out and thenyou know, just their bond and their
way they communicate with each other toyou know, to set up this you
know, great escape. How importantdo you think that that unified mindset,
you know, helped in getting thegirls out and were literally just time running
out just like a soccer match,you know, just that that working together
and that strategy on so many levels. Is how important was that? Do
(20:26):
you think? I think it waseverything. I think these girls had such
a strong community in one another.If they were attempting this on their own,
I think I don't know that anyonecould have done it, but I
think they gave each other strength.I think they all knew that one mistake
by one of them could cost theirfriends and teammates in ways that I can't
(20:52):
even imagine, and so I thinkit was incredibly important. You know.
Another Sadaf story that I love isshe at a particularly difficult moment after one
of the failures of them trying toget out, her dad basically said,
and this is in the film,her dad basically said, We're not doing
(21:15):
this. This is it's too dangerous. We've tried, it's not going to
happen. Give it up, essentially, and Sadaf said to him, you
can stay if you want, butessentially, me and my teammates have decided
that we're getting out. And shesaid, I would rather die than stay
in Afghanistan, So I'm going toleave with my teammates and you can do
(21:37):
whatever you want, but that's that. And I just thought that was like
the I know she's I mean,she's a badass. She's like, I'm
doing this and you can get onboard or not. But again, I
think the reference to her teammates iswhat gave her that strength. So yeah,
I think it couldn't have been moreimportant. You talk about your close
(21:59):
with Sadaf. Are there other girlsthat you stay in contact with? You
know how they're doing today and doyou know if they've seen the film or
their reaction to the film. Yeah, Sadaf and I did become particularly close.
She from the very beginning was reallyenthusiastic about making this film and being
a part of it, and wasexcited to tell her story, And so
(22:22):
I think she and I just becameclose naturally because of her enthusiasm. Yeah,
she and I talked regularly, butI also talked to a lot of
the other girls. A lot ofthem are still in Portugal, some of
them are in Germany. Their refugeeexperience is incredibly hard, to say the
least, and so while they certainlyare making the best of it in Portugal,
(22:44):
I think they're all trying to figureout where they can have the most
economic opportunity, and so for somepeople that's not in Portugal. So for
those folks, they've left. Butyou know, all the girls are in
school, they're playing, they're they'replaying together. They actually Racunda just brought
them to the Gophia Cup, whichis the youth World Cup in Sweden,
(23:08):
and they had, by all accountswhat they've told me, the time of
their lives. And so they're doinggreat, you know, And like I
said, they are. Their futuresare bright. They'll be good. It's
hard and it's been hard, butthey yeah, they have a bright future
for sure. Have any of themseen the film? Are they? Udolf
(23:29):
has seen the film. She lovedit. She called me with the tears
in her eyes and was thrilled withhow it came out. But I hope
that I get to show the filmto the girls at some point on a
big screen, like I think itwould be really special, and I'm nervous,
obviously, I want to. Ihope that they feel good about how
(23:51):
I've brought their story to life onscreen, So hopefully we can make that
happen. You do such a greatjob at intertwining these personal narratives and then
plus, like we were saying,like the broader sociopolitical issues, what do
you hope that people take away fromthe film and how do you hope it
contributes to discussions surrounding like you know, gender equality, human rights, you
(24:12):
know, the role in shaping societalchanges which we discussed here. How do
those conversations take place? Yeah,I mean, I think the format of
a documentary film kind of lends itselfto a longer tail than a lot of
the news coverage that we all consumedaround Afghanistan. And so there was a
(24:33):
lot of conversation, a lot ofcoverage about the Taliban to take over when
it happened, then even in themonths that followed. But you know,
like everything else that comes and goes, and so I hope that this film
can just be a reminder that thisis still happening in Afghanistan. There are
(24:53):
a lot of people who were forcedto leave their homes and are reckoning with
that, you know, to nottake our eye off the ball, like,
not forget about these people. Ithink that's what makes me the most
sad is people get riled up andcare and motivated for a short period of
time when the news cycle is youknow, happening, but then it kind
(25:18):
of fades, and so I'm reallyglad that, you know, two years
after the Taliban take over this film, we'll get to see the light of
day and kind of remind people thatthis is happening. Like I know,
it's hard to imagine when you know, we live in the United States and
we're especially watching the World's Cup andit all feels so awesome, and all
(25:40):
of these African countries are having somuch success, and countries where the federations
are brand new and historically women thesupport of women's football hasn't been there,
is there, and you know,there's a lot to celebrate. There's also
a long way to go, andso just not forgetting about that is what
I hope people take away from thiswell thanks to you and also putting a
(26:03):
face on it too. I mean, to get to know these players on
a personal level, you almost feelinvested in them. And then also,
like I said, I saw apicture of the other day of just Caliban
enforced the Burkah's and all these womenand all you see is their eyes and
I was thinking to myself, thosecould be soccer those are maybe the soccer
team. Maybe they're doctors, youknow, maybe what scientists, you know,
(26:26):
what were they before that? Andit's heartbreaking and it's really I mean
the fact that you put a faceon it and that you're telling the story.
I mean, we so appreciate that, you know, we get the
word out as much as we canabout it, because, like I said,
it is important film. Tell ourlisteners how how to watch this film,
and most importantly, you know,how we can share it with our
friends and family and are you know, politicians and anybody we can share it
(26:48):
with, our support it in anyway. How can we do that? Yeah.
So the film premiers on MSNBCNE onAugust twenty seven, and will be
available on streaming on Peacock thereafter.Yeah, I appreciate anything you can do
to spread the word. We're excitedand hope that this resonates with a big
audience. I think it will.I mean, it's it's a miracle that
(27:10):
those girls got out. When youwatch this film, you're like, how
did they do that? And thentheir family coming over like how did they
do that? I don't you know, I don't know, but all the
credit to them, all the creditto you, I mean, as women's
soccer fans. Of course, thisis a horrific story about as human beings.
It's really sad, and hopefully thisfilm inspires a new generation. And
like the title says, it meansthe future, right, that's right,
(27:30):
yeah, And it's actually the girl'steam name that they've sort of adopted,
as you said, Afghanistan. They'renot technically the youth you know, the
Afghanistan team anymore. There is nofederation for them to play for, and
so they have sort of taken onthis name. I end up as a
tribute to the future that they andAfghanistan will have. And that's all we
(27:55):
have is the future. So hopefullyit's right brighter than what we're seeing now.
Marie, thank you for the storylight and for lending your filmmaking talents
to such an incredible event, andthanks for coming by and sharing it all
with us. We really really appreciateyou well. Thank you for having me,
this was great, and appreciate yoursupport of the girls and the film.
(28:15):
So I've had the privilege of interviewingsome amazing guests on this show.
You know that if you've been around, if you've been here for the past
ten years, and I've interviewed somevery inspiring women this year, I mean,
telling some amazing stories. But Ihave to tell you, I've never
had goosebumps throughout an entire interview likeI did with this one. I mean
(28:38):
throughout the interview, just crazy.And I was thinking about it. I
was like, I wonder why,And I think I just attribute it to
this story, this incredible story.I've run out of adjectives. Chat,
gupt give me some adjectives. Ihave no more. But I mean,
right, I mean the story ofthese girls. I mean what they want
(29:00):
and through we know the story,but this film really humanizes it because we
get to know these girls on apersonal level. And the whole time I'm
watching this film, and you'll probablyfeel this way too, I'm thinking,
Wow, this kid could be fromMission Gaejo, California, or wherever,
from wherever, from your hometown.I mean, we see ourselves in these
(29:22):
girls. We see our daughters inthese girls. Girls just who love soccer,
who love their families, their brothersand their sisters, and seeing this
just all taken from them, youknow, but they did something about it.
It's just nothing short of a miraclethat they got out. I mean
truly they're walking miracles and it's alldocumented in this film. It just unbelievable.
(29:44):
I was telling Marie after the interview, this story couldn't have been told
twenty years ago or before. Becausethe girls, like like most teenagers around
the world, have cell phones,and then the film everything they're filming,
everything that they're going through at thetime, so we get to see their
journey, you know, happen likein real time, and they communicate through
(30:06):
what's app, you know, sono one can listen in on their calls
or read their texts. I mean, just smart, smart girls and just
so full of determination. I don'tplug too many things on this show,
but I'm plugging this film. Iencourage everyone to watch it. It's called
Ayenda, it's spelled a y en DA, premiering on August twenty seventh
on MSNBC here in the States andthen streaming on Peacock there after I think
(30:30):
August twenty eighth or so, andthen then you can go ahead and put
it on your Peacock list of thingsto watch and don't and don't hesitate,
really go go in and watch thisshow. The executive producers, I'll have
to mention our Trevor Noah, Libbygeist, Aaron Cohen, Mark me Otto,
Ian Oh, I'm gonna mess upIan's name, but Ian Arafa Rafiica.
(30:52):
It's an Italian, I should sayit right, right, I'm Italian?
Right, FITCHA, how's that?Lauren Hammond's Alexa Conway, Elizabeth Waller and
Rashida Jones oh and Amanda Spain,all the executive producers and associate producer Hannah
Beer, and of course directed byMarie Markolz, which it's so great to
hear from her. It's a thirtynine minute film, the most memorable thirty
(31:14):
nine minutes still experience watching a film. I think it's a story we won't
forget. We can't forget, youknow, and hopefully this film in some
way helps keep that story alive.Just a great thing. Hey. I
want to give a big thanks toMarie for taking it time to visit with
us, especially during this busy timefor her. And also big thank you
to Eric Osuna for arranging that interview. Thanks Eric for your help and hard
(31:36):
work. Appreciate you. We'll bepromoting this episode of course, like we
always do on social media, andthen when we do, especially after the
documentary, airs. Let me knowwhat you think of the film, or
end this story in the comments whereveryou follow us on social I'd love to
just hear your thoughts, not onlyon this episode, but on the film
and on the stories in the film. We need to keep, like I
(31:56):
said, we need to keep theconversation going and not forget at these girls
and what they went through and whatthey're still going through. Right. We
heard Marie say the story is notover, just so inspiring and unforgettable.
I think chat cheept just run outof adjectives for me, so I can't.
I can't talk about it anymore.But I'm sure you'll have your own
after watching this film for sure.I really hope you enjoyed this episode,
(32:21):
episode two twenty one of Women's WorldFootball Show. I would love to hear
your thoughts on my interview with MarieMargolas. Feel free to email me at
Patty atwtwfshow dot com. I readall the emails and do my best to
apply in a timely manner. Ifyou did enjoy this episode, subscribe now
on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadioapp, Google Play, tuned In,
cast Box, Spreaker, Stitcher,wwfshow dot com or wherever you're listening to
(32:43):
this right now, and if youreally really enjoy listening to Women's World Football
Show, one of the best waysyou could show your appreciation is to give
us a five star rating and leavea review wherever you listen. I always
love to know your thoughts and reviewsare the best ways for others to find
the show. Also, another wayto help grow the show and grow this
beautiful game that we love is totell your friends and family about Women's World
Football Show. If you're listening ona mobile device, swipe up over the
(33:06):
cover art and you'll find the episodenotes, including some details you me hymnist.
For relative links from this episode,visit our show notes on WWF show
dot com. Connect with us onTwitter, Facebook, and Instagram at WWF
show, and follow me on Instagramat p Labella. Women's World Football Show
is hosted, written, edited andproduced by Patti Labella. That's Me.
Additional assistance for this episode by MarieMargolas and Eric Osuna. And thank you,
(33:30):
especially you for joining me on thisexciting journey through women's football. Stay
strong, stay mindful, and keeploving your heart. We'll see yall next time.
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