The film "Mario" tells the little-know but true story of the top scorer of the Mexican Women's National Team: Maribel “Marigol” Domínguez. The film shows a boy with an incredible gift for playing football, and how he evolves to become the star of a local team. However, we can tell this boy is not entirely happy to play the sport, even though he loves it. Towards the end, we discover the reason why: Mario is actually Maribel, a girl who had to reinvent herself and adopt a different identity to be able to play football. That girl was Maribel Dominguez, who turned out to become the top scorer of the Mexican Women's National Team. “Mario” shares a story of discrimination and the challenges Maribel faced in becoming one of the greatest Mexican football players of all time.

Machismo culture is omnipresent in Mexican life, but exacerbated in football. Many male fans still believe that professional football is not for women, and are not afraid to say it. As a result, female players suffer as they have become the subject of discrimination, receiving death threats on social media on a daily basis. We wanted to tell the powerful and courageous story of one of the greatest Mexican football players, Maribel Dominguez, to inspire girls and women in Mexico and beyond to never give up on their dreams. “Mario” was the identity that Maribel had to create to be able to play football, which is a little-known story because of the taboo that still exists around women who play and love football just as much as men.

Maribel Dominguez' story is essential in the fight for equality in women’s football in Mexico—it's a story about discrimination and struggle, but also about passion and drive. "To show a real issue, a faithful approach is needed," was the director’s approach. It wasn’t just a film inspired by Maribel’s history, it was a meticulous recreation of a moment in her life. With this in mind, we interviewed Maribel several times to catch every detail and create a detailed mood board. Film textures, photography, production design, locations, music and styling were our best allies. We chose locations to show where Maribel lived. For the lead role, we casted a girl who’s also a female football player in Mexico, and thus understands Maribel’s experiences. Shot on 35mm, music and sound design contributed to stylistic continuity as we move back in time. Altogether, beautiful cinematography captures the authenticity of this powerful, uplifting story.