This is What a Footballer Looks Like’ Documentary Directed, Shot and Starred in by all girl football team in Hackney
The Project
Breaking stereotypes of female footballers & encouraging more girls to kick a ball.
“This Is What A Footballer Looks Like” is a 12-minute documentary, delivered, directed, filmed, starred and written by the team members of Hackney Laces Football Club.
From concept to creation the Hackney Laces team storyboarded, filmed and interviewed one another for the final documentary, which challenged the gender stereotypes within the sport and shared a deeper look into their experiences as footballers which they hope will inspire more girls to sign-up to a team and have the opportunity to play football.
Programme Type
Social Action Programme
Project
This Is What A Footballer Looks Like
Community Partners
Hackney Laces, London Football Journeys
The Programme
Through a 12-week workshop with Sisterhood, Hackney Laces used design thinking exercises and followed the double diamond process to discover and define how the team would approach making the world of football a better place for girls and women and recruit more girls to play for Hackney Laces.
We partnered up with London Football Journeys who provided the team with equipment and basic training in how to use the cameras. The documentary focuses on encouraging more girls to play football and bringing more feminine elements to the sport. The girls interviewed each other and also touched upon other topics like pay inequality and exposure between male and female footballers.
The documentary also features their local communities, including their favourite places to play and eat in the community to encourage other people to visit Hackney.
This Is What A Footballer Looks Like Shoot
A photography workshop with Edith Whitehead a London based photographer who got the girls behind and in front of the camera learning about art direction, photography, consent, comfort and power.
Sister Speak
Setting the space with our intentions and goals of how we want to show up for ourselves and how we want to work with each other.
Film Workshop with London Football Journeys
Learning the ins and outs of filmmaking. each player gained experience in working as a director, camera assistant, interviewer as well as featuring in the film.
“I have been ‘blown away’ by the girls creative talent and articulation of the struggle every woman faces as footballers. I hope there is a generation of female footballers out there who regardless of their ability or what level they want to play at, they at least had the chance to try it and hopefully liked it.”
— Katee Hui, Founder of Hackney Laces
Beyond The Programme
In The Community
The documentary was aired at the annual Football Exchange where female football teams from across London gather together to play football, meet new friends and learn more about other boroughs of London.
Press
The project and programme featured in East London Lines