The director of the “Matildas: The World at Our Feet” docu-series has opened up about the boundaries and barriers to making the series ahead of the team’s World Cup campaign.
Katie Bender Wynn, an Australian filmmaker based in Los Angeles, said when making an observational documentary such as this one, the priority and focus actually needed to not be on the content, but its stars.
“In the team environment, you know, the documentary wasn’t the priority. They’re trying to win a World Cup and not everyone’s prepared for cameras, especially the Australian team. We’re not the U.S. team that is used to multiple broadcasters being around or documentaries that are being made on the several superstars that are on the U.S. team. So this was a lower-profile team that was starting for the first time to be in the limelight leading into this World Cup on home soil. And not everyone was prepared for us,” she told the Variety Sports & Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles.
The best option to overcome this, she said, was to actually put the cameras aside and spend a couple of weeks with the coach and the internal infrastructure around the team and its players – essentially, just getting to know them.
She said once the team got to know her and her similarities to them – her Australian origins and her familiarity with high-performance environments – the production became more comfortable and open. She noted it’s imperative to know how things work internally first and to understand the boundaries that you can’t overstep in intense environments.
“[Then] I was able to kind of, you know, direct the crew and tell them what they can and can’t do. Had I not been there, like, I don’t know if the cameras were gonna, you know, pull them aside at half time because that’s not cool. We have a few flies on the wall,” she said.
The six-part docu-series was commissioned by Disney+ earlier this year, and was billed as a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s quest for World Cup glory, chronicalling the hights and lows, as well as the teamwork, trust and spirit between the women.
More broadly, the series wanted to track the rise of women’s sport and how the Matildas are pioneering change.
Fremantle and Boardwalk Pictures leant their services to the global production, while Steve Bibb and Christopher G. Cowen were executive producers.
Ahead of its release, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, senior vice president and managing director of The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand, said the series transcends football and celebrates the true Australian spirit of the Matildas.
“The Matildas are gamechangers for women’s sport in Australia and around the world. This Australian narrative details the impressive skill, determination, commitment and stamina it takes in the lead up to the World Cup in 2023,” she said.
Director Bender Wynn said despite breaking through massive barriers, the Matildas’ story has never been properly told.
“I’m thrilled that Disney+ is shining a light on this inspiring group of women whose stories are worthy of the biggest platform. On its surface, this is a classic tale about a team of women preparing for the greatest tournament of their lives; but at its core, it’s an intimate portrait of a sisterhood that transcends the game.”