Documentary Feature From Everywoman Studios And Change Content Follows U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s Fight For Equality
In celebration of International Women’s Day, HBO Max today announced the upcoming documentary film LFG, a no-holds-barred, inside account of the U.S. women’s national team’s ongoing fight for equal pay as told by Megan Rapinoe, Jessica McDonald, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Sam Mewis and others. The film is directed by Academy Award®-winners Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine, and produced by the Fines and Abby Greensfelder with Howard T. Owens and Ben Silverman serving as executive producers for Propagate Content in collaboration with CNN Films and HBO Max.
“This fight is so much bigger than ourselves and the Women’s National Team”, said Megan Rapinoe. “We’re doing it for the next generation of female soccer players and for women throughout the world in all industries and walks of life who are also fighting for equality.”
Three months before the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the players filed a class-action, gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, which sets the stage for LFG. The film interweaves transcendent athletic performances, including a record-breaking World Cup victory in 2019, with the players’ ongoing pursuit for equal pay. LFG grants viewers unprecedented access to these game-changers as they meet the physical demands and pressures of being some of the world’s top athletes, while showcasing their courage, unflinching spirit and resiliency in an effort to create long-lasting social change with the biggest fight for women’s rights since Title IX.
“This team of badass women is captivating on and off the field,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive vice president, Non-Fiction and Live-Action Family Programming, HBO Max. “Their domination in soccer, and determination to achieve parity with their male counterparts, is awe-inspiring.” Lizzie Fox, senior vice president, Non-fiction Programming, HBO Max adds “This film sheds light on the lengths these players are willing to go to fight for women’s rights and equality. It’s a story that needs to be told and we can’t wait to share it with audiences everywhere.”
“As a female director, it’s my honor to capture this defining moment in these women’s lives. It’s their story, in their own words, and Sean and I are so excited to give these women the platform they are sorely due,” said director Andrea Nix Fine of Change Content. “These women’s trailblazing ascent is history in the making and exactly the type of groundbreaking stories we love bringing to audiences,” said director Sean Fine.
“I am thrilled to make this documentary about these fearless women under the banner of my new female-focused content company at this watershed moment for women in our culture”, said Abby Greensfelder CEO of Everywoman Studios.
“As fathers who watched the World Cup and the US Women’s team year after year with our young daughters, we feel incredibly proud to bring the story of these players’ groundbreaking rise to power to an even larger audience,” said Propagate’s Howard Owens and Ben Silverman.
“Andrea, Sean, and Abby have demonstrated exceptional tenacity and commitment to the stories of these remarkable women,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide. “Through multiple location shoots and fast-breaking developments, during a global pandemic, they were able to create a film about the courage and grit of these athletes who have inspired people around the world by their dedication to their sport and gender equity,” said Courtney Sexton, senior vice president for CNN Films.
LFG is the third original film through the production partnership between HBO Max and CNN Films. “On the Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries,” a documentary feature about the 2020 US Presidential election and the women journalists who covered the primary campaigns for CNN, and “Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests,” about the ubiquitous nature of personality testing that impacts all aspects of our work lives and private relationships, were produced by CNN Films for HBO Max and are both currently available on the platform.
About Change Content
Founded by Oscar®, Emmy® and Peabody Award®-winning filmmakers Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, Change Content seeks out untold true stories and turns them into unforgettable film, television, and theater works that upend the way viewers think and feel about issues that matter. Building on the success of their previous company, Fine Films, Change Content is an artist-driven boutique studio focused on developing and producing projects that illuminate, entertain, and inspire audiences to become agents of change.
About Everywoman Studios
Everywoman Studios is a purpose-built media company whose mission is to tell female-focused stories that might not otherwise be told, and that can have a positive impact on our culture. Founded in 2019 by Abby Greensfelder, creator of global hits such as “Say Yes to the Dress” and “The Last Alaskans”, Everywoman Studios is developing and producing a slate of premium non-fiction projects for multiple networks as well as running Propelle, a content accelerator for women. LFG is the first documentary film project Greensfelder has developed and produced under the Everywoman Studios company banner.
About Propagate
Founded in 2015 by Ben Silverman and Howard Owens, who pioneered the global format business in the late 1990s, Propagate has offices in Los Angeles, New York and Paris. Its recent credits include the Emmy-nominated “Hillary” that premiered at Sundance and Berlin and now streams on Hulu, “Notre Dame: Our Lady of Paris” for ABC, “Go-Big Show” on TBS, and the upcoming American adaptation of The Eurovision Song Contest, as well as the unscripted “November 13: Attack on Paris” “Haunted” and “Prank Encounters” for Netflix, and “In Search Of” and “Kings of Pain” for the History Channel. In scripted, “Blood and Treasure” and “Broke” for CBS, “Charmed” for The CW, the recently aired election-themed puppet special on Fox, “Let’s Be Real” and the upcoming “Zorro” television series for NBC. Propagate also created and produced the podcast, “An Oral History of The Office” for Spotify, and “The Office Deep Dive with Brian Baumgartner” for iHeart Radio. Propagate’s expanding portfolio of companies includes Electus (“You vs. Wild”, “Running Wild With Bear Grylls,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Fashion Star”), Big Breakfast (“Adam Ruins Everything”, “Hot Date”), Notional (“Chopped” franchise), and talent management firms Artists First, Authentic Talent & Literary Management and Select Management.
