TEHRAN -- The Iranian films “Offside” and “A Few Days Later” are scheduled to debut at Contemporary World Cinema section of the 31st Toronto International Film Festival, which will be held from September 7 to 16.

Jafar Panahi’s controversial flick “Offside” is about six Iranian girls who disguise themselves as boys in order to enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium to watch the 2006 World Cup Asian zone qualifier between Iran and Bahrain but who are arrested one by one.

The U.S. distributor of the film, Sony Pictures Classics, recently sent a letter to Iranian cinematic officials asking them to nominate the film for the category of Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007.

Panahi had sought to screen his film in Iranian movie theaters a month before the World Cup, but all of his efforts to obtain a screening license from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance were futile and shortly afterwards the film was pirated.

However, the film was shown in Britain, Greece, Cyprus, and Sweden during the 2006 World Cup.

Tentatively named “Escape”, “A Few Days Later” is the second feature-length film of actress-turned-director Niki Karimi, which tells the story of Shahrzad (played by Karimi herself), a girl who has to make crucial decisions in her life.