Oscar-Winning ‘Star Wars’ Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Teams With Trish Dalton To Direct ‘Reggae Girlz’ Doc About Jamaica’s Women’s Soccer Team & Its Path To 2023 World Cup

EXCLUSIVE: After partnering with LeBron James on the 2018 HBO documentary Student Athlete, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel) and Trish Dalton (Election Year) have reteamed for Reggae Girlz, a feature doc telling the untold story of the Jamaican women’s national football team and their inspirational journey, both on and off the field, to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Currently shooting in Jamaica, the new film hails from Red Bull Studios, Astronaut Films, Polygram Entertainment and Cedella Marley/Tuff Gong Collective, watching as the Jamaican women’s soccer team, also known as The Reggae Girlz, make a roaring entrance onto the international stage. After failing to qualify for the 2007 World Cup and the subsequent Olympic Games, the team was disbanded in 2008. But in 2014, Bob and Rita Marley’s eldest daughter, Cedella, made it her mission to resurrect The Reggae Girlz, since then helping to lead them to become the first Caribbean team, made up of either women or men, to qualify for back-to-back World Cups. 

Bob Marley’s famous line “Football is Freedom” perfectly encapsulates the Reggae Girlz. Battling sexism and violence while growing up with limited resources, these women have found in football an opportunity to achieve their dreams and support their families. Their stories embody the heart and soul of their country, infused with the reggae music of Bob Marley and imbued with the resilience and passion of the Jamaican people.

At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Reggae Girlz are on the precipice of making history for themselves, their country and women around the world. The upcoming World Cup squad will include Deneisha Blackwood, Konya Plummer, Trudi Carter, Cheyna Matthews, sisters Allyson and Chantelle Swaby, and Khadija Bunny Shaw. Their stories personify courage, joy, vulnerability, hope and triumph in the face of adversity, with an opportunity to shine on one of the largest athletic stages in the world.

Laura Smith is producing the film, with Jon Alwen exec producing for Astronaut Films (The Assassination of JFK, The Priest and the Paedophile Hunter), alongside Philipp Manderla and Dominique Cutts for Red Bull Studios (The Real Mo Farah, The Alpinist), David Blackman for Polygram Enertainment (Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues, The Velvet Underground), and Marley through Tuff Gong Collective (Marley). Eight-time Grammy-winning singer, musician and producer Stephen Marley will serve as the film’s musical director.

Said Obaid-Chinoy and Dalton in a statement to Deadline, “We knew this was a story that needed to be told. Every one of these players has defeated the odds and not only serve as an inspiration to others but also continue to help unite the Jamaican community.”

“FIFA Women’s World Cup here we come! I am so proud, the entire country is so proud. The story of the Jamaican women’s soccer team just begs to be told on film,” remarked Tuff Gong Collective’s Marley. “The Reggae Girlz are on the ride of their lives. It’s truly a Cinderella story, one that can empower women across the globe. And we couldn’t have found two better people to direct than Sharmeen and Trish.”

Added Red Bull Media’s Global Head of Feature Films and Red Bull Studios, Philipp Manderla, “The story of achievement and inspiration is exactly what we at Red Bull Studios look to amplify. We are thankful to Cedella, the athletes and the entire Jamaican football community for welcoming us.”

Recently tapped to direct a new Daisy Ridley-led Star Wars film for Disney/Lucasfilm, Obaid-Chinoy won numerous accolades, including Academy Awards and News & Documentary Emmys, for her documentary shorts A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness and Saving Face. In addition to Student Athlete, she has also helmed features including Three Brave, A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers, 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam and 3 Bahadur: Rise of the Warriors, most recently helming multiple episodes of Disney+’s Ms. Marvel.

Past credits for Dalton, Student Athlete aside, include the documentaries One Night Stand (which she made with Elisabeth Sperling) and Election Year.

Obaid-Chinoy is repped by CAA and Fox Rothschild.