Estrellas de la línea
Valeria, Vilma and Mercy are prostitutes living in Guatemala. The price for their services is two dollars. All three belong to a group of women who work in the vicinity of “La Linea”, the railway line that cuts straight across Guatemala City and runs to the Pacific Ocean. All of them dream of being treated with respect, and that the violence against them will end. In order to publicise their plight – that also includes regular police harassment – they decide to found a football team. After weeks of training, they register for a local championship. But they are barred from taking part – simply because they are prostitutes. Their disqualification unleashes some hefty controversy that has a significant effect on their lives. “We are women and mothers first, prostitutes second”, is the pronouncement at the top of their list of demands. Vilma, Valeria, Mercy and the other women are not inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are women and mothers who are struggling to survive in a world full of violence and hypo crisy; women and mothers who have dreams, just like any other. “Women and Mothers” is therefore the slogan on a banner celebrating these female players from the wrong side of the tracks, as the newly-christened “Stars of La Linea” finally walk out onto the pitch to take part in the decisive game…
details
-
Runtime
90 min -
Country
Spain -
Year of Presentation
2006 -
Year of Production
2005 -
Director
Chema Rodríguez -
Cast
-
Production Company
Telespan 2000 -
Berlinale Section
Panorama -
Berlinale Category
Documentary Film
pictures from the movie
Biography Chema Rodríguez
Chema Rodríguez is a Spanish filmmaker and writer. He has contributed multipart documentaries on Latin America and Africa to Spanish television (TVE, GeoPlaneta), broadcasted in diverse international channels. In 2006 he took part in the Panorama section of the Berlinale with his full-length documentary "Estrellas de la Línea" (The Railroad All Stars) (Second Audience Award, Berlinale Panorama 2006; Jury's Special Mention, Málaga Film Festival 2006; Sebastián Prize, San Sebastián International Film Festival 2006, as well as a dozen other awards at international film festivals). He repeated at the Panorama section of the Berlinale in 2009, with his full-length documentary "Coyote" (Jury Second Prize, Documenta Madrid 2009; Jury First Prize and Audience Award, LAFF Utrech 2009), and also awarded at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival 2010. Director, screenplay writer and producer of the documentary short film "Amor callejero" (Street Love), and the documentary short film "Triste Borracha" (Sad Drunk; Jury First Prize, Documenta Madrid 2009). He also wrote the screenplay for the feature film "La gran final" (The Great Match) (Special Official Section, Berlinale 2006). Scriptwriter and director of the TV movie "Maras" (2010). Scriptwriter and director of the full-length documentary "El abrazo de los peces" (2011) (The Embrace of the Fishes). His next project is the feature fiction film "Anochece en la India" (2012) (Night Falls in India), an international coproduction.