Basketball is seen from an underrepresented point of view with Netflix’s upcoming film Rez Ball. The film is written by Echo director Sydney Freeland and Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo, directed by Freeland and produced by LeBron James and his SpringHill Entertainment.
The film, which originally debuted at TIFF earlier this year, follows a Native American high school basketball team as they fight to make it to the state championships. According to the official description:
In the heart of Chuska, New Mexico, the Chuska Warriors, a high school basketball team rich in Native American heritage, face their greatest challenge. After the loss of their star player, the team must unite like never before to keep their dreams of a state championship alive. This is more than just a game; it’s a journey of resilience and unity, a true underdog story deeply rooted in Native American culture.
The film stars Jessica Matten, Kauchani Bratt, Cody Lightning, Dallas Goldtooth, Ernest David Tsosie, Kusem Goodwind, Zoey Reyes with Amber Midthunder and Julia Jones.
Freeland spoke about the film with Native Viewpoint‘s Vincent Schilling, saying how the film gives even more representation to various aspects of the Native American experience.
“I think this is an incredibly important film for all of us. I think when we first started trying to crack the story, it was all about how we would tell the story,” she said. “So much has been told about life on reservations, on the Indigenous experience, and Native Americans in general from the outside in. It’s a very specific sort of perspective and we wanted to do kind of the opposite of that, which is we wanted to tell the story from the inside out.”
“So a lot of that was just drawing on [our own experiences,] like when Sterlin and I were sort of talking about our initial kernels of the story, it was sort of like, ‘What would we want to tell, what would we want to do?'” she continued.” We just drew a lot from our own personal experiences, and we found there was a lot of overlap in that, and we really just tried to try to capture that and put that together on on the screen and form Rez Ball.”
Bratt also talked about the film with ClutchPoints, saying the film celebrates “the Native American style of play of basketball.”
“Its our own thing–it’s fast, it’s quick, it’s spontaneous–it’s about being fearless and following your instincts,” he continued. “It’s also about giving people a reason to come together and have hope.”
Producers are Katie Elmore and Maurício Mota, Spencer Beighley, Jamal Henderson and LeBron James, and Nancy Utley. Executive Producers are Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping, D. Scott Lumpkin, Maverick Carter and Jodi Archambault. Springhill Company Production, Wise Entertainment Production, Chernin Entertainment and Lake Ellyn Entertainment Production are the production companies.
Rez Ball comes to Neflix Sept. 27. Watch the trailer below.
