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Federation Entertainment announces the international launch
of NADIA,
Anissa Bonnefont’s inspiring documentary
The amazing story of Nadia Nadim,
an Afghan refugee who has become a world-renowned soccer star
A CANAL+ Création Documentaire film
Co-produced by Federation and Echo Studio
Coming very soon on CANAL+
Paris, 6 September 2021
For immediate release
Federation Entertainment is proud to announce the international launch of NADIA, a gripping 90-minute documentary about the remarkable story of Nadia Nadim. This young Afghan woman and her family sought asylum in Denmark after her father was murdered by the Taliban when she was only eight years old. Today, she is a famous soccer player.
NADIA is the new documentary by Anissa Bonnefont, director of Wonder Boy, a Tribeca Film Festival award winner and 2020 Cesar nominee, also made for CANAL+ and currently on Netflix worldwide.
NADIA is set to premiere at the Rendez-Vous de Biarritz international TV market (September 6-8, online) and then at Mipcom (October 11-14).
Coming very soon in France on CANAL+.
How can you rebuild yourself when you lose your father and your homeland forever at the age of 8? Nadia Nadim, whose father was killed by the Taliban in 2000, has embarked on this challenging journey. The young Afghan woman, her four sisters, and their mother fled Kabul in the wake of the violence. Like millions of their fellow citizens, they were ground down by a conflict that has lasted for decades, as Russian and then American forces occupied the country. Today, the Taliban have returned to rule.
Nadia’s passion for soccer was her salvation. She became a champion on the national team in her adoptive land, Denmark, then for the Paris-Saint-Germain women’s team.
Nadia, having achieved soccer stardom, yearns to return to Afghanistan to find out the true story of her father’s murder and yet presently the country is wrenched by fear more than ever. The Taliban and ISIS instill chaos and fear constantly. Nadia’s mother, Hamida, tries to dissuade Nadia from making this dangerous trip as well as her aunt Aryana, a pop star and host of the Afghanistan’s most popular TV show. In the current climate, their lives are at stake.
Being denied access to her country, Nadia must grieve for another loss. Nadia, however, is unsinkable, and has big plans for the future. She is studying to be a reconstructive surgeon. Perhaps, by healing others, she will mend her own destiny, shattered by war.
Anissa Bonnefont’s portrait of Nadia is resolutely optimistic. She followed the young football champion for eighteen months in 2020 and 2021, in France – where Nadia was playing for the Paris team – and in Denmark, where her family lives. Shooting ended on June 4, 2021 when the PSG women’s football team won the French Championship. Within a matter of weeks, the Taliban had returned to power in Kabul. Bonnefont’s documentary combines the terror looming over Afghanistan’s future with the story of a fugitive whose success surpasses everyone’s hopes. It is an invitation to reach out and welcome other refugees fleeing from obscurantism and war.
Anissa Bonnefont, Director: “With Wonder Boy, I became acutely aware that people want to watch films that are both entertaining and illuminating, pointing out the social problems in our society. When I met Nadia, it became evident to me that I had to tell her story. The path this inspiring young woman has taken gives hope to the youth of this generation and while raising consciousness amongst us all. We, too, could become exiles and refugees, if terror should take over our country. The film’s increasing notoriety enables us to spread this well needed message of hope and trust to an even broader public.”
Myriam Weil, Head of Documentary at Federation Entertainment, Producer: “When we started the production on this documentary, we were aware that the situation in Afghanistan was going downhill fast. We knew it was dangerous. We were far from imagining that at the end of the film, twenty years after Nadia Nadim was forced to flee, the tragedy would be repeated. This documentary is an opportunity to understand that history is currently in a loop and children today are at risk to go through similar trauma. It makes the support from CANAL+ even more valuable.”
Jean-François Camilleri, President of Echo Studio, Coproducer: “This film, NADIA, is a source of inspiration for the general public. It is a call to action and an essential resource for organizations that help refugees and the less fortunate in France and elsewhere. Its release is a special opportunity to build an impactful campaign and give these organizations the visibility and support they need.”
NADIA was selected at the Sunny Side of the Doc in June 2021 in the highly selective Women Talent Hub which purpose is to showcase female filmmakers.
NADIA is a Federation Entertainment production, co-produced with Echo Studio, in partnership with CANAL+, with funding from Cinemage, SG Image, and the CNC. The documentary is distributed by Federation Entertainment.
Federation and CANAL+ are currently partnering on a second film, ARSÈNE WENGER: INVINCIBLE, co-produced by Yvette Production and Noah Media Group. Directed by the Franco-British duo Christian Jeanpierre and Gabriel Clarke, it is the only documentary ever made about the legendary Arsenal football coach, Arsène Wenger.
ARSÈNE WENGER: INVINCIBLE will also be launched by Federation at the next Mipcom.
Press contact
Valérie Tailland
About Federation Entertainment:
Federation heralds a new breed of independent studios, focusing on the creation, production, financing and distribution of high-quality original content for the global marketplace.
Since its creation in 2013, the group which is spearheaded by Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan is experiencing exponential growth. Federation now has multiple companies in Paris (Federation’s headquarters, production & distribution operations, Cottonwood Media, WeMake, Cheyenne Federation, Mercer Production), Los Angeles (Picture Perfect Federation, Federation Entertainment of America, Animal Federation), Rome (Fabula Pictures), Madrid (Spain Fedent España), London (Federation UK), Tel Aviv (Drama Team) and Berlin (Cottonwood Media GmbH).
Active in the drama, kids & family, documentary and light entertainment space, Federation works with all platforms and major broadcasters in the market. Its rich portfolio includes major award-winning and international successes such as the cult spy series The Bureau (50 X 52’), the financial thriller Bad Banks (12 x 52’), the Netflix original hit series Baby (now 3 seasons), Find Me in Paris (78 X 26′), the premium live action hit for tweens. Federation’s documentary line-up includes Les Bleus 2018, at the heart of the Russian epic, for TF1 and Amazon Prime-Video, Varane, Destin de Champion, available on Amazon Prime-Video as well, and A Life time apart (Canal+ Family & France Télévisions) just to name a few.
About Echo Studio:
Founded in Paris, Echo Studio produces and distributes feature films, fictions, documentaries, TV shows, series for platforms, TV films, digital content.
Founded by the producers of Academy Awards Winner The March of the Penguins (127M$ worldwide boxoffice), On My Way to School, Once Upon a Forest and the creator of the Disneynature label and producer of all its films (Earth, Oceans, Chimpanzee, African Cats…), a total of 125M$ domestic boxoffice), Echo Studio is a team of experienced movie executives, producers and distributors with international back ground.
ECHO IMPACT MARKETING: Our belief is that the need for content has never been as high, the public is ready to watch-and-learn, but most impact content suffer from low marketing and communication resources. We aim at developing strong social impact campaign for each of our film and our shows, in order to promote the causes and the subjects of our films in addition to the traditional release campaigns.
For that, we work with partners (foundations, corporations, family offices) to raise money and with institutions, NGOs, school systems to spread our messages.
Echo Studio has distributed Australian academy award entry Buoyancy and also coproduced and distributed the feature documentary Forward and several TV documentaries, including Watt the fish and One way ticket. Echo Studio is also coproducer and codistributor of Aissa Maiga ’s first feature documentary, Above Water (Official Selection Cannes 2021).
