“The story’s the same everywhere: women get paid less to do the same job,” says Megan Rapinoe in a new trailer for “LFG.” Directed by Academy Award-winners Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine, the HBO Max documentary takes viewers inside the U.S. women’s soccer team’s ongoing fight for equal pay.
Since the team’s inception, they’ve made less than their male counterparts. “The men’s team get more money, more marketing, better fields,” we’re told. Tired of feeling pressure to be “grateful” for their opportunities and accept unfair treatment, the players filed a class-action, gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation three months before the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019.”If we win this World Cup, they would have no choice but to be on our side,” Jessica McDonald explains.
“This will be one of those landmark decisions talked about for decades,” a lawyer emphasizes.
“This isn’t really a sports film, but rather a story that is a testament to their incredible talent, and also about a group of women who stand together to fight a fight that will make women everywhere say ‘been there, felt that,’” Nix Fine told us. “While we bring an audience inside the lawsuit, we also wanted to make their journey personal to all women.”
Nix Fine and Fine won an Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2013 for “Inocente.” They received a nod in 2008 for their feature documentary “War Dance.”
“LFG” drops on HBO Max June 24.
