Offside

2006 1h 33m FA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 142

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the 2006 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, numerous young women are caught and rounded up for dressing as men so they could gain access to the game. Guarded by several soldiers in a holding pen, the women attempt to keep updated on the score.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Sima Mobarak-Shahi
First Girl
Shayesteh Irani
Smoking Girl
Ayda Sadeqi
Soccer Girl
Golnaz Farmani
Girl with Tchador
Mahnaz Zabihi
Girl Disguised as Soldier
Nazanin Sediq-zadeh
Young Girl
Safar Samandar
Azari Soldier
M. Kheyrabadi
Mashadi soldier

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jafar Panahi
Writers: Shadmehr Rastin, Jafar Panahi
Languages: Persian
Countries: Iran

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jafar Panahi, shot by Mahmoud Kalari. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Yuval Barazani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jafar Panahi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Sima Mobarak-Shahi and Shayesteh Irani and Ayda Sadeqi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0499537 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jafar Panahi directs. Mahmoud Kalari behind the camera. Yuval Barazani scores. Jafar Panahi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Iran. Dialogue in Persian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 20 years ago.
3Directed by Jafar Panahi, shot by Mahmoud Kalari. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Yuval Barazani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jafar Panahi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sima Mobarak-Shahi and Shayesteh Irani and Ayda Sadeqi carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0499537 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Mahmoud Kalari
Original score: Yuval Barazani
Editing: Jafar Panahi
Production design: Iraj Raminfar
Makeup / hair: Parmis Zand
Sound: Mohammad Reza Delpak
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,500
Original language: FA
IMDB: Offside (2006)

Awards

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jafar Panahi

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-03-20
★ 7/10
I think this might be my favourite from Jafar Panahi as it takes a more comedic approach to his critical evaluation of modern day life in Iran. It’s a big day in the sporting calendar with their national team facing Bahrain for a spot in the 2006 World Cup. Ostensibly to protect them from the outrageous behaviour of the menfolk, girls are banned from entering the stadium but a few of them are not to be deterred. Donning a range of disguises they attempt to blag their way in past the touts, the attendants and the ever vigilant soldiers. Some do manage to sneak in, but a few are apprehended and detained in a holding pen tantalisingly close to a view of the pitch - but they are still not permitted to watch. Initially, the girls request that one of their captors provide a running commentary, then another needs to use the facilities - the all male facilities, that is; and then my favourite turns up dressed as a ballsy soldier (Mahnaz Zabihi) who actually made it into a seat in the VIP stand before being caught. She's certainly for the high jump. Their guards are hardly the most menacing, indeed as the girls engage and the match progresses we get a sense that they don’t really know why they are there nor why their charges are to be handed over to the dreaded vice squad after the match. Perhaps if their team pull off the win, the girls might benefit from the ensuing chaos in their capital and avoid punishment. It’s not so much laugh out loud at the comedy as at the daftness of the scenario. The selection of this eclectic group of illicit fans illustrates the dynamic nature of female football folowers in as just a varied and lively fashion as any combination of male fans could do, complete with colourful epithets and unseemly cigarette smoking! What’s also effective is the quality of the acting - it’s all pretty natural and judging by the way the photography followed them around, quite possibly not without a degree of improvisation either. This offers us proof that you don’t need to get all philosophical nor heavy to poke fun at a flawed principle, and I did enjoy the simplicity if this film.

Production companies