THE RAILROAD ALL STARS

US Premiere

The residents of La Línea in Guatemala City are treated no better than the trash that litters their streets. A destitute neighborhood next to the railroad tracks, La Línea houses poor families and is overrun by thievery, gangs, and prostitution. The hookers have had enough of the abuse they get from customers, lovers, and the police who are meant to protect them, so they strategically form a soccer team-"Las Estrellas de la L’nea"-to help bring attention to their plight.

After their first game against a local high-school team, Las Estrellas are prohibited from future competitions on account of their profession, bringing much controversy and media attention-which is precisely what the women were hoping for. Chema Rodriguez's exhilarating film illuminates their fight for justice and offers a surprisingly uplifting story about women who live in hard places and have fallen on hard times, who together garner the self-esteem to demand better.

THE RAILROAD ALL STARS follows Las Estrellas as they tour Guatemala, competing against teams of police officers, strippers and other marginalized groups. Rodriguez portrays these women with affection and respect and brings an evenhanded approach to a fiery subject. Although the team may never make it to the big leagues, they'll never be defeated in their fight for dignity.

-Rose Vincelli

Sponsored by

DIRECTOR BIO
Chema Rodr’guez was born in Seville in 1967 and began traveling the world at the age of seventeen. He has visited more than one-hundred countries. He gained a reputation as a travel writer on account of his newspaper and radio features, as well as his books, and in 1996 he founded the magazine, Cartographica, which he also ran. He contributed features on Latin America to Spanish television, and later made multipart documentaries. He also wrote the screenplay THE GREAT MATCH which is screening at the 2006 Sydney Film Festival.

Print Source:
Ida Martino, Media Luna Entertainment
Hochstadenstrasse 1-3
Cologne, D-50674
Germany
+49.221.801.498.13
info@medialuna-entertainment.de

PRECEDED BY...CLOWN CHILDREN
Jannicke S. Jacobsen
NORWAY, 2005, 6 MINUTES

Street children in Guatemala perform circus acts in traffic, juggling for food and pesos in order to live.

Print Source:
Arna Marie Bersaas, Norwegian Film Institute
Dronningens Gate 16
P.O. Box 482 Sentrum
Oslo, N-0105
Norway
+47.22.47.45.73
arnab@nfi.no

6/14 at 1:00 PM
6/15 at 5:00 PM

FILMS BY: TITLE | DATE | COUNTRY | INTEREST | SECTION