Film Focusing on the Peril of Women's Professional Soccer to be Shown Friday

If you drive around the San Ramon Valley and the Tri-Valley on a weekend it doesn't take long before you see girls playing soccer.

It is the most played sport for girls in the area, with a relatively large number receiving scholarships to play in college. But even with the sport growing in popularity, not just here but around the country, it has yet to translate into a successful women's professional league.

This is the topic of Jun Stinson's documentary film, The 90th Minute, which will be shown at at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with professional soccer players on the state on the women's game.

Though the film was first released in May 2011, it's importance is more timely than ever. Last week, Women's Professional Soccer cancelled its 2012 season, due to legal infighting and a lack of revenue, among a host of other issues.

"It's really too bad," Stinson said. "I think there was hope after the World Cup last year, and the Olympics this year would help garner more media attention for the league."

Stinson, 27, made The 90th Minute as a student at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. She said she's always been enthusiastic about soccer and played the sport growing up — first in California and then in middle and high school in Japan — but didn't realize the league was receiving so little media attention, which led her to do the film.

She contacted the local WPS team, the FC Gold Pride based in Santa Clara, and was granted extensive access to the team for the film. Stinson focused on three players — Ali Riley, Kim Yokers and Rosie Tantillo — as they shared their career high and low moments.

"I think (the team) was really happy just to have some media attention," Stinson said. "For the most part, the Gold Pride was really supportive ... the players were great on how willing they were to share their experiences with me."

The 90th Minute has caught the eye of film festivals, being an official selection of the Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival and Newfilmmakers LA.

To see the movie Friday, it's $10 for adults, $5 for kids and $2 for Dougherty Valley students. All proceeds go to distributing the film and Dougherty Valley's Sports Medicine Program.

You can RSVP by clicking here.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Stinson didn't know about the Women's Professional Soccer league before making her film.