The Toledo Troopers, Tulsa Babes, Los Angeles Dandelions, California Mustangs, Dallas Bluebonnets, Pasadena Roses, Philadelphia Queen Bees, Oklahoma City Dolls, and Houston Herricanes may not be household names but these professional female footballers broke barriers in women’s sports — playing full-tackle football for the National Women’s Football League (NWFL) from 1974 to 1988.
In the documentary The Herricanes (2023), filmmaker Olivia Kuan talks to former members of the titular team, including her mother Basia. And today, Rebellious is talking to Kuan.
Janet Arvia: Why was it important to make this documentary?
Olivia Kuan: I grew up hearing stories about women’s football from my mom. It was a rude awakening when later in life, I realized that no one else had grown up in a world where women played football. I made this film because I wanted to set the record straight and to preserve the history of these trailblazers from the 1970s before it was lost.
You’ve worked as a cinematographer, director, producer and actress. Which is most fulfilling to you?
The fulfillment I gain from any one project or position is dependent on where I’m at in my life. Directing The Herricanes was extremely fulfilling in part because I was feeling frustrated with my career when I started it. Additionally, pushing past the added obstacles caused by COVID made the journey more challenging but also more rewarding.
How influential/inspirational was your mother?
I came to realize somewhere along the way that part of what I was looking for in this story was the version of my mom who was in the 1970s living a parallel life with mine in the 2020s. It goes without saying that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I weren’t my mother’s daughter. But I think that in the context of this film, I can confidently attribute my commitment to keep going despite all odds, to her.
Basia was raised in Chicagoland and is a graduate of New Trier High School. How did she find her way to Houston?
Basia hates the cold. She started moving south when she went to college in Kansas. From there, she moved to Houston to pursue a career in interior design. After realizing that she couldn’t find a hotter place in the country, she decided to make Houston her home.
I read that NWFL players were paid $25 a game. If so, being on an all-female team must have offered benefits beyond money.
Though the contracts may have said $25 a game, most have reported that never actually happened. It took everything they had just to keep the teams afloat. The players were dedicated to the sport and their teammates without financial incentive. They did it for love of the game and for the many ways they each grew as individuals.
What would you like audiences to come away with after watching the movie?
I hope that people will walk away with a broader perspective of what is possible.
The Herricanes opens this Friday at Wayfarer Theaters in Highland Park. On Dec. 7, Basia will be on hand for a talkback following a special screening.