#RACEGIRL – The Comeback of Sophia Flörsch - beetz brothers film production

#RACEGIRL – The Comeback of Sophia Flörsch

So far, no woman has managed to score points in the male domain of Formula 1 motorsports. Sophia Flörsch wants to change that – no matter what it takes. 

Year

2023

Length

90 min

Director

Sonia Otto

Synopsis

Motor racing has the potential to be one of the few sports that offer gender-equal access and opportunity, because success does not depend on physical strength. However, so far there are no women in Formula 1.

German racer Sophia Flörsch has dreamt of F1 since she started kart racing aged four. Competing with drivers like Mick Schumacher, she soon proved to have the speed and mental strength for success.

In 2016, she became the first woman to score points in Formula 4. Everything was going well until the horrific world-headline making accident in the 2018 F3 Macau Grand Prix. For hours, her family and friends didn’t know if she’d survive. But Sophia is a fighter. Giving up racing was never an option.

#RACEGIRL follows Sophia in her grueling battle to get back on the racetrack. She confronts the sport’s prejudice against women and faces the disadvantage of having fewer financial resources to draw upon than most drivers. It’s an expensive sport, and in almost all racing series, the race team is paid by the drivers themselves, so Sophia must spend a lot of time on her work with media and sponsors.

When Russia invades Ukraine, Sophia’s team loses their main sponsor and two drivers with weeks to go before the start of the season. Sophia has to start over once more.

The documentary offers a deep insight into the money-driven, male-dominated world of high-class motorsports, and presents an intimate portrait of a strong young woman and the sacrifices she makes for her dream.

Credits

Written & directed by

Sonia Otto

Produced by

Christian Beetz

Line Producer

Kathrin Isberner

Director of Photography

Marcus Winterbauer

Michael Kotschi

Editing

Finbarr Wilbrink

Karoline Schulz BFS

Sound

Tobias Müller

Björn Rothe

Music

Matthias Klein

Commissioning Editor RTLZWEI

Christian Weiß

Commissioning Editor RTL+

Frauke Neeb

Sales & distribution

#RACEGIRL – The Comeback of Sophia Flörsch

Trailer

„Just in diesem Moment überraschen uns die aus dem Theaterbereich stammenden jungen Regisseure Hans Block und Moritz Riesewieck mit einem erstaunlichen Dokumentarfilm, der seit Monaten Publikum und Kritik auf den wichtigsten Festivals der Welt elektrisiert. Völlig zu Recht: Es ist, als würden einem die Scheuklappen weggerissen, als sähe man das, was sich seit Jahren direkt vor unseren Augen abspielt, zum ersten Mal unverschleiert... eine fesselnde ,Doku noir' mit höchstem Anspruch...Dieser Film müsste an allen Schulen gezeigt werden.“

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

17.05.2018