SVG Sit-Down: Marie Margolius on the Thrill of Directing New Prime Video Docuseries For the Win: NWSL

SVG Sit-Down: Marie Margolius on the Thrill of Directing New Prime Video Docuseries For the Win: NWSL The Words + Pictures production takes viewers inside last year's playoffs and championship By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Friday, March 14, 2025 - 11:16 am

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As the 2025 National Women's Soccer League season kicks off, Prime Video is ushering in the league's return with a new four-part docuseries, For the Win: NWSL.

The series, which dropped all episodes last week, takes viewers behind the scenes of last year's playoffs and championship and offers an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the league, its best teams, and some of its most engaging personalities on the pitch.

The series is produced by Words + Pictures and executive-produced by studio founder and former ESPN executive Connor Schell, accomplished documentary producer Libby Geist, legendary soccer player Alex Morgan, and former NFL quarterback Eli Manning.

Marie Margolius helmed the project as director, bringing with her a strong sports-documentary track record, having worked on numerous 30 for 30 films and other projects during her time at ESPN. The former collegiate soccer player jumped at the chance to work on a project spotlighting the NWSL.

Margolius sat down with SVG to discuss how she mapped the story, what players surprised her along the way, and why building trust in the interview subject is the most important part of developing a series of this nature.

Director Marie Margolius speaks on a panel at the premiere of Prime Video docuseries For the Win: NWSL at The Paley Center for Media on March 4. (All photos: Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Prime Video)

You have a pretty clear box to play in here: you're chronicling a playoff and eventual champion. I'd imagine that makes it clear when this story ends, but, from a creative perspective, where and with whom did you want to start this story?

We wanted to start with the characters who we felt were going to be the most open with us. I think the key to success in shows like this is building trust and relationships with the people on-camera.

We went to all of the playoff teams, [presented] what I wanted to do and what the series was, and basically said, If you want to be a part of it, we would love to have you, and, if you don't, I'm not going to make anyone do anything.

For example, [Washington Spirit player] Trinity Rodman came up to me after I gave the spiel and said, Hey, I was sort of apprehensive about this, but I think I want to be a part of it. Tell me what that looks like and what the commitment would be. Of course, Trinity as a player and character in a story is a dream come true and was on a list of people I would love to embed with. But it was when she raised her hand and said, I want to be a part of this, that it became a slam dunk. I wanted her to feel good about it and feel like a willing participant.

That was the process: getting buy-in from teams and players first and then deciding that, if Trinity is one of our characters, who's going to help us tell this story. That leads us down a path. We start pulling on the Trinity thread, and certain stories sort of surface naturally.

Were there any players or coaches that surprised you along the way?

Kylie Strom. [The center back for the Orlando Pride] is a player whom I had known about only because I happened to play against her when I was still playing soccer. She's fairly anonymous on the grand scheme of the international soccer landscape, but she has worn the captain's armband and is very much a leader on the [Pride]. She plays an important piece and is the heartbeat of this team, so let's interview her. Let's see what she has to say.

I remember during that interview sort of looking at my co-producers and saying, Oh, my God, this story is insane. She, as [sportscaster] Roger Bennett says in the doc, really took football roads to get where she is today, which is a leader on the NWSL Championship-winning, largely undefeated, Shield-winning Orlando Pride and played a huge role. I found her story so inspiring. Again, it wasn't something I set out to tell, but, because of her openness and her journey being so compelling, I sort of fell in love with it, and she ended up being one of our main voices.

There are many iconic American players in this story, but I was curious what it was like for you to talk to Marta, the Brazilian player currently with the Orlando Pride. U.S. audiences know she's a legend and have seen her play in World Cups, but they may not know a lot about her personality. What was it like to get to know her more intimately?

Marta is incredibly endearing because she's such a legend and she's such a badass. I went in thinking she would have this veneer of media-trained. She has done it all; she has seen it all. She doesn't need to do things like this, but she, again, was a person who sat down in the interview chair and was an open book. She was incredibly charming. She's really funny. She's very uncomfortable talking about herself, super humble.

Obviously, on the field, she's incredible, but it's easy to see why, off the field, she's such a leader: she wears her heart on her sleeve and makes everyone feel like they're on the same team. Getting to know her was a joy. It was totally surprising and made, I think, our whole production team root for her.

I think you'll see in the doc, her personality is amazing. She's so fun; she's so funny. She's galvanizing in a way that I've never seen. I felt like I wanted to run through a brick wall at the end of the interview. She's amazing. I'm excited for U.S. audiences to get to know her a little bit better.

You played soccer at Harvard. What does it mean for you persona

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/03/14/svg-sit-down-marie-margolius-on...
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