Girls Move Mountains

Karishma is the co-founder of the Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League, a female soccer championship that takes place every year in the astonishing Karakoram Mountain Range, a remote and rugged area located in the North of Pakistan.

She defines herself as an indigenous woman from the Wakhi tribe, which values are togetherness and unity. She is the founder of the league and a role model for the girls in the mountains. Through soccer, Karishma and her sister studied and gained freedom.

But freedom always has a price. As girls, they were often harassed in the streets for dressing in soccer attire. Now that they are women, their battle is fought online and through media, where crowds of aggressive men look down on them and insult them for being women fighting for the rights of girls in the mountains.

Despite Karishma’s numerous opponents, she counts on the unconditional love of her grandmother – a wise Wakhi woman who lives in a hut in an isolated village in the North. It will be the old lady’s knowledge what will give Karishma strength.

Girls Move Mountains is about women’s rights as much as it speaks about how older generations inspire the new ones to create a slightly fairer world. While the young players fight to win the cup, Karishma fights to leave these girls a world where everybody is equally important. They all have a dream, and nothing and no one will come between them and victory.

Credits
Writer: Anna Huix, Carlos Prieto
Producer: Guille Cascante, Anna Huix, Tono Folguera
Executive Producer: Gemma Felius
Director of Photography: Francesc Roig
Editor: Carlos Prieto, Raul Egüé
Production Designer: Gemma Felius
Sound Designer: CanSons Studio

Plays in

30 for 30: Coming Home

Intimate portraits of resilience. From preserving Aloha far from home to pioneering athletes, activists, and spiritual teachers who defy expectations in the face of geographical barriers, prejudice, and societal norms—these short documentaries show how staying true to one’s self can be a transformative force.