Cinema Day highlights German, Iranian cultures

On Friday, April 3, Wisconsin high school students and teachers will participate in World Cinema Day, with an educational screening of “Football Under Cover,” a film that documents the efforts of both the Iranian and German teams to cross cultural and national borders to play the match of a lifetime. After watching the film, students will meet one of the directors, David Assmann, from Berlin, Germany.

World Cinema Day is a high school outreach program of the Language Institute, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Film Festival.

“Football Under Cover” documents the efforts of a German women’s soccer club to play the match, and follows their travel to Iran to fulfill that dream.

Associate professor of German Venkat Mani will introduce the film to the high school audience and illuminate complexities of the film that defy easy labeling. Mani will be joined at World Cinema Day by Fatemeh Mirsharifi, a graduate student from Iran who will share her perspectives on the film and participate in a post-screening panel discussion.

“Football Under Cover” director David Assmann and others associated with the film will talk with Jean Ferraca on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders” from 3-4 p.m. on Monday, March 30, with a repeat from 9-10 p.m. The show also will be available here.