BY KEITH EDWARDS

Staff Writer

Several area screenings of a film relating a girls soccer team competing in an otherwise all-boys league to life lessons for girls are planned in central Maine.

"Kick Like a Girl," directed by Utah filmmaker, and former social worker, Jenny Mackenzie, is the story of what happens when "The Mighty Cheetahs", a third grade girls soccer team competes in the boys division.

"It's a great film for girls to see but also for anybody with a girl in their life to see," said Megan Williams, executive director of Hardy Girls, Healthy Women, one of the sponsors of some of the screenings. "It's a really fun film to watch, and to have girls involved in sports is such a preventative force."

Other sponsors include the Maine Women's Fund, Maine Women's Lobby, and the financial services firm Merrill Lynch.

Margo Mallar, a retirement planning counselor with Merrill Lynch, said the film is 23 minutes long and the screenings will be followed by a panel discussion about how lessons learned on the playing field can be applied off the field.

"I am thrilled to see 'Kick Like a Girl' inspiring audiences of all ages and reminding us of the life lessons learned on the playing field," said Mackenzie, reached at the Newport Beach International Film Festival, where her film is a 2008 official selection.

"Sports has been one of the most effective instruments of social change in our lifetime. Children learn to take charge of their lives on the field, they can have victories and defeats. With the victories they learn that there is a big payoff with teamwork, trust, and communication. With defeats they learn and grow from their mistakes. These lessons transfer into their adults lives as they make educational, financial, career and relationship decisions."

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com