SLC Filmmaker "Kicks Like a Girl"

Mar 28, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Salt Lake City filmmaker Jenny Mackenzie's film "Kick Like a Girl" gets its hometown debuts tonight. Mckenzie says she hopes the film reminds everyone that sports can be an effective instrument for social change.

"And I think it shows us that no matter what your gender, you learn such life lessons by being physical with your body, by learning to work as part of a team - commraderie, cooperation, communication - and that is something that of couSalt Lake City filmmaker Jenny Mackenzie's film "Kick Like a Girl" gets its hometown debuts tonight. Mckenzie says she hopes the film reminds everyone that sports can be an effective instrument for social change. rse is equal value to girls and to boys," Mckenzie says.

The film follows an all-girls soccer team, the Mighty Cheetahs, as they compete in a boys soccer league. Mackenzie was the team's coach, and her daughter, Lizzie, was one of the team's stars. She convinced the parents of the other team members to move the girls to the boys league to give the unbeaten team more of a challenge. Mckenzie sees the explosion of girls sports in recent years as the direct result to the passage of Title-9 in the 1970s. The act requires schools to provide athletic opportunities for female students.

"As far as we've come with Title-9 having been in place for 35 years, and celebrating women's history month, and all the great things we have in place, we've come a long way," Mckenzie says. "But we have a long way to go."

"Kicks Like a Girl," has been selected to play in 15 film festivals in the U.S. and abroad. It has been nominated for the Billie Jean King Award for the positive portrayal of women and girls in the media. It premiers in Salt Lake tonight at 7:30 at Rowland Hall St. Mark's Larimer Center Theater.

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