A must-watch ahead of the Women’s World Cup, the series follows the stories of players including global superstars Sam Kerr, Ellie Carpenter, Mary Fowler and more, as the Matildas reveal the sacrifices they’ve made and struggles they’ve endured as they look to become the best of the best in the world’s most popular sport.

Despite all their hardships, their sights are set on one goal throughout – to leave a lasting legacy and inspire future generations to pursue their dreams.

“Matildas: The World at Our Feet” is produced for Disney+ by Barking Mad Productions and Station 10 Media. The series is directed by Katie Bender Wynn (The Will To Fly), with Steve Bibb (Shipwreck Hunters Australia, Inside the Sydney Opera House) and Christopher G Cowen (Decades Series, College Football 150, State of Play) serving as Executive Producers, and David Briegel-Jones as Co-Executive Producer. Fremantle and Boardwalk Pictures also contributed services to the production.

All six episodes of “Matildas: The World at Our Feet” will premiere on 26 April 2023.
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In the film, an English grocer who is supplying the camp with goods sees Trautmann playing football and recognises his skill as a goalie. He coaches a local team and works out a deal with the camp’s commander to have him leave the camp for the day and play for his team.

Trautmann has to overcome the prejudice and hatred post war for the Germans and so begins his odyssey. One that ultimately ends with him marrying the grocer’s daughter, playing for Manchester United and becoming the receipting of an OBE and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The reality of the period right after the end of war is often overlooked in the joy of the conflict finally being over but it left millions without a home and without immediate family. This tale highlights one soldier’s journey that became a happy one. The film, while being a bit predictable at times still provides a good number of moments that are inspiring.

Rob Hudson
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The insatiable passion for soccer is sometimes hard to fathom as we in the West have so many diversions and other sports to follow. For a large number of countries throughout the globe though, football is the only truly accessible sport and one that is of ultimate importance. Into this world was born one Diego Armando Maradona. He was born in a poor Argentina slum and rose out of the squalor to become very rich and very famous.

As much as the film is an examination of his once in a lifetime talent, it is also a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked adulation, idol worship and the sadness of a drug addiction left to fester while the addict creates wealth for others. It is also a statement on the macho mentality where asking for help with addiction is seen as a weakness.

Overall, the film has a slight reliance on the audience having more than a passing knowledge of the subject matter and the structure is non-linear and can at times feel a little scattered. Maradona was a complex individual and these minor issues become secondary in the telling of such an interesting subject.

Diego Maradona releases in Australian cinemas on July 25, 2019.

Rob Hudson
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Callinan plays Troy Carrington, a football player who had a quick and inglorious pro career and has returned to the small country town of Bodgy Creek to live out his days. He has become somewhat of a recluse after his embarrassingly short footie career and becoming a town outcast by helping via a protest to close down the town’s main business, a lumber mill.

He spends his days making bad wine on the farm he inherited from his late father. His life changes dramatically when he meets the young boy Neil Barlow (Rafferty Grierson) and his mother Angie (Kate Mulvany). Angie talks Troy into helping save the local football club, which he does by convincing a rag-tag group of immigrants into joining the club. This does not sit well with many of the locals.

The film wears its heart on its sleeve but this is one of its charms, that and lambasting redneck humour in the kindest possible way. The way things come together at the end while being completely predictable is still utterly charming and not devoid of making a statement. Sugar makes the medicine go down easy.

Rob Hudson
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