Another day, another announcement of a women-centric sports film. Alexis Ostrander is directing a movie about The Red Rose Crew rowers, Netflix is working on a pic about the World Cup-winning 1999 U.S. Women’s Soccer team, and now Francesca Gregorini is helming a film about tennis champs Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton. According to Deadline, “The Match” will be “the first feature project under Four Daughters, a development and production company dedicated to telling stories that celebrate inclusion.”
Based on Bruce Schoenfeld’s book, “The Match” is the story of friends and doubles partners Gibson and Buxton. “The pair formed a friendship that crossed many perceived divides and would lead to triumph at Wimbledon while enduring unspeakable bigotry,” the source details. Gibson, who was black, and Buxton, who is Jewish, “were trailblazers who defied racism, gender inequality and anti-semitism in one of the greatest sporting upsets in history and in so doing began a complex and moving friendship that changed their lives.”
Veteran industry execs Richard Stern and Navid McIlhargey founded Four Daughters, and designed its mission in honor of their own daughters.
“Our society is starting to have substantial and long-overdue conversations about privilege, discrimination, and inclusion. We’re all gaining deeper insights into the intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity and how they form a nuanced spectrum of human identity,” Stern stated. “As allies of these movements, we wanted to create a safe space where inspirational stories depicting the complexities of identity could be told and passionate storytellers could find a home. That’s our mission.”
Julie Snyder, who previously collaborated with Gregorini on “Tanner Hall,” will produce “The Match.”
“I’m delighted to have a chance to partner with Francesca again, having witnessed firsthand the extraordinary vision she brought to ‘Tanner Hall’ — the first film we worked on together,” Snyder said. “And I am incredibly proud that Richard and Navid have chosen ‘The Match’ as Four Daughters’ inaugural film. I look forward to working with them to bring Althea and Angela’s powerful story of sportsmanship, tenacity, courage, and friendship to audiences everywhere.”
“Four Daughters’ mission resonates with me because growing up I did not see many strong women characters in film, and as such my directing career has largely been focused on the female journey,” Gregorini explained. “’The Match’ is a story of bold women who support each other and won’t be sidelined. I find that incredibly inspiring, and am honored to help bring their groundbreaking story to life.”
Gregorini co-directed “Tanner Hall” with Tatiana von Fürstenberg. She made her solo directorial debut with “The Truth About Emanuel,” starring Jessica Biel and Kaya Scodelario. Her other credits include episodes of “Killing Eve” and “Humans.”
When we asked Gregorini her advice for women filmmakers, she said, “pull the trigger and make your work. Find a story that inspires you, write a story that inspires you and shoot it. Especially now that there are so many cheap digital cameras, there’s no excuse for not making work.” She continued, “I think it’s critical that more women make films, because it is such a powerful medium. So, if we are not actively telling our story with our voices as seen through our eyes, then we will just have words put in our mouth and be seen singly through the eyes of men, which is not an accurate portrayal of who we are. So, beyond our own personal need for expression or personal ambition, I think being a female filmmaker is of service in terms of leaving behind a more accurate portrayal of who we are.”
