THE CORINTHIANS - WE WERE THE CHAMPIONS - FEATURE FILM SCREENING WITH Q&A

A feature-length documentary film revealing the powerful real-life story of the original rebel girls of football - The Corinthians Ladies FC from Manchester, England. Who formed a team in 1949 at the height of the English Football Association's 50-year ban on women playing, took on the all-male establishment, and won.

The first documentary to tell stories of women who played despite the ban, in their own words, this film reveals the inspiring true story of how a team of working class girls from Manchester embarked on a David v Goliath fight against the sporting system. Told by 10 surviving players, it reveals the emotional, hilarious, and fierce fight to be recognised.

Exploring themes of misogyny in sport, and the fight for women to break out of a domestic identity in post-War England, it is a film that packs a powerful punch today, as women and girls find themselves fighting the very same issues.

From a muddy park in Manchester, to winning a European Cup in Berlin in 1957 - 11 years before their male counterparts, The Corinthians travelled the world to become global pioneers. The first women's team to tour South America in 1960, they went on to beat Juventus in another major European trophy in 1970, just as the ban was being lifted.

Revealing the personal stories behind the fight to play, our 10 players (who go back as far as 1954) speak exclusively for the first time about the real-life battle to be accepted in a sport that did want women on its pitches. With unseen archive footage, unearthed for this film, and packed with personal memorabilia, the documentary also brings the team's matches to life with a specially commissioned animated comic strip and a punk girl-band soundtrack.

Supported by the UK's National Football Museum, who have no other films in their archive of women talking about playing during this period, the film is a powerful testament to the pioneering women who stood up the sporting system and won, ultimately becoming one of the founding teams of the Women's Football Association.

Furthermore, it resonates today as women continue to fight for equality in football - and for the same simple access to a professional football pitch. The fight the Corinthians started continues through the film, which highlights how The FA have never formally apologised for the 50 years of discrimination. Its emotional conclusion will leave viewers questioning how far women have really advanced in sport - and society. And how far there is still to go.

Host or Publisher North East International Film Festival