The Founders documentary tells the captivating story of the 13 women who, in 1950, founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) after years of struggling to even be recognised as athletes. It really is a true underdog story that’s particularly pertinent in a time when, more than 65 years later, we’re still discussing whether women should be allowed in clubhouses. Whether you’re a golf fan or not, this story is for anyone who believes in equality and defying the odds.

Directors
Charlene Fisk (directorial debut)
Carrie Schrader (feature film debut)

Cast
Marilynn Smith (LPGA Founder)
Shirley Spork (LPGA Founder)
Louise Suggs (LPGA Founder)
Marlene Bauer Vossler (LPGA Founder)

They were not supposed to be athletes, they were not supposed to get paid to play and they were most certainly not supposed to call the shots. But in 1950, 13 amateur women golfers battled society, finances and sometimes even each other to stake their claim to become professional athletes by creating the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

Despite documenting events that occurred more than 65 years ago, the story of The Founders is incredibly relevant today, when many female athletes still struggle for parity with their male counterparts. Although this is true across sport as a whole, it is particularly prevalent in the golfing world.

Muirfield Golf Club in Scotland recently hit headlines after it lost its right to host future Open Championships when members voted to continue refusing entry to women. Top clubs Royal St George’s and St Andrews, meanwhile, have only begun to allow women to play golf on their courses in the last 12 months. With the debate around Muirfield raging on, major names in golf stepping up to have their say, and Royal Troon Golf Club - host of this year’s Open - set to have a special meeting to propose the introduction of women members, The Founders could not come at a more pertinent time.

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Atlanta Film Festival and premiering in the UK at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this June, The Founders is a labour of love by directors Charlene Fisk and Carrie Schrader, who have made it their mission to tell the stories of these 13 unsung heroes of sport.

The interviews with the four surviving members of the LPGA - Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs and Marlene Bauer Vossler - combined with archival footage really demonstrate the passion of these women and their determination in the face of apathy and, often, outright hostility as they struggled to be recognised as professionals in the sport they loved. The Founders shows them clocking up thousands of miles as they drove between tournaments that they had to pay to put on themselves and in front of spectators who were attracted only by the novelty of women playing golf. But they overcame all this to write themselves into the history books as the first professional female golfers, paving the way for those who followed them.

Set against a backdrop of women returning from being a vital part of the war effort and then being expected to go back to being housewives, The Founders is about golf - but it’s also about so much more.

"a fascinating documentary"
- The Hollywood News

"Inspiring and deeply moving" - Boxoffice Buz

"An underdog story with bite, and a hymn to the equality movements of the 20th Century - EyeforFilm

"Inspiring, entertaining and powerfully moving" - Matthew Turner - VODzilla.co