Rez Ball
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Rez Ball'' is a 2024 American
sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Sydney Freeland Sydney Freeland (born October 29, 1980) is a Native American filmmaker. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation. She wrote and directed the film '' Drunktown's Finest'' (2014), which garnered numerous acclaims after premiering at the Sundance Film ...
, who co-wrote the screenplay with
Sterlin Harjo Sterlin Harjo (born November 14, 1979)Sam Lewin, , ''Native Times News'', reprinted in ''Canku Ota'', May 24, 2004 (article gives his age as 24 in 2004). is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American filmmaker from Oklahoma. He is ...
, based on the nonfiction sports novel ''Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation'', by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' journalist Michael Powell.
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...
served as one of the producers. The film features an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
, including Kauchani Bratt,
Jessica Matten Jessica Matten (born November 30, 1985) is a Canadian actress, fashion model, and film producer. Early life, family and education Matten was born in Edmonton, Alberta. She has British-Chinese ancestry through her father, as well as Red River ...
,
Julia Jones Julia Jones (born January 23, 1981) is an American actress. She may be best known for playing Leah Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'' film series and Angela Bishop in the television series '' Dexter: New Blood''. Early life and education Jul ...
, Amber Midthunder, and
Kiowa Gordon Kiowa Joseph Gordon is a Native American actor of Hualapai heritage. He is best known for his role as shapeshifter Embry Call in ''The Twilight Saga (film series), The Twilight Saga,'' as well as Junior in the TV series ''The Red Road (TV series ...
. The Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from Chuska, New Mexico, is competing for the state championship title while contending with losing their star player. The film premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
on September 8, 2024, and was released on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
on September 27, 2024.


Plot

For the first time in years, the Chuska Warriors, a Navajo reservation Native American high school basketball team from Chuska, New Mexico, starts the season with a good chance to compete for the state championship title. The team's former captain Nataanii Jackson, after taking his junior school year off due to his mother and sister's passing, has returned. Jimmy Holiday covered the position in his absence. Coach Heather Hobbs, once the reservation's pride and joy for her playing, must do well this year or lose her job. The Warriors win their first game, but a reporter mentions Nataanii's mother and sister's deaths to him, which causes him to have dark thoughts. When Nataanii fails to show to their big match against major rivals the Santa Fe Coyotes, the team loses by a landslide. Afterwards, the Warriors are informed that he killed himself, so the team must contend with losing their star player. Jimmy takes Nataaii's death particularly hard, as he was his lifelong close friend and had seen him in a dark mood the night before but had not realised he was suicidal. His mother Gloria is little comfort to him, chalking his death up to being the Natives' fate to lose. Heather recruits her high school basketball coach Benny to assist her, as he had helped her senior team with Gloria to win the state championship in their day. Gloria goes to Nataanii's father Ronald when she sees he needs a cleaner at his garage. When she explains she can only work on the rez' due to multiple DUIs he gives her the job, suggesting she come along to AA meetings. Coach Hobbs introduces Benny Begay to the team as her assistant coach, underlining he had gotten them two state championships in her time. He insists they go back to more traditional ways, so introduces
smudging Smudging, or other rites involving the burning of sacred herbs (e.g., white sage) or resins, is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. While it bears some resemblance to other ceremonies and rituals involving smoke (e.g ...
to start. They are put in a scrimmage with Chuska's girls team, who they play a running game with and the boys lose. The team continues having difficulties with coming together, losing nine in a row. There is talk of people wanting Coach Hobbs off the team. Gloria showers more negativity on Jimmy, insisting the higher one rises, the harder they fall. She tells him she does not go to the matches to not see him lose. The team is taken by bus for a team-building exercise. They are tasked with working together to recover a herd of sheep. At first, although they find them, working individually does not work. So, Jimmy came up with a plan, they split into two organised groups and shepherd them into their corral. Jimmy gets inspired, suggesting they communicate their plays in Navajo. He first gets Krista, his manager at work, to teach him a little as he never learned it. The team studies their newly-labeled plays on the bus to the next game, and they start a winning streak. After a 14-day streak, Chuska loses the district title, but still goes on to the state championship. Chuska is able to win their first three matches, making it to the final against the undefeated Santa Fe. They soon learn their rivals have learned Navajo, so cannot use their language to advantage. The Warriors catch their breath, then keep right on top of the Coyotes until the last few minutes. Santa Fe's team captain fouls Jimmy on a last second shot. Jimmy is given three free throws, hitting two of them to win the championship. Jimmy gets Krista as well as a dozen college offers. Coach Hobbs also gets a few job offers, but decides to stay on one more year. Gloria finally comes clean, facing up to her past ways and finally encourages her son.


Cast

* Hunter Redhorse Arthur (
Diné The Navajo or Diné are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Navajo language, Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Din ...
) as Kobe Nezv * Ryan Begay (Diné) as Ronald Jackson * Kauchani Bratt (Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan/Quechua) as Jimmy Holiday * Damian Henry Castellane ( Puyallup) as Ruckus Largo * Dallas Goldtooth ( Mdewakanton Dakota/
Diné The Navajo or Diné are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Navajo language, Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Din ...
) as Henry Tso * Kusem Goodwind (Coeur d’Alene/Nez Perce)as Nataanii Jackson *
Kiowa Gordon Kiowa Joseph Gordon is a Native American actor of Hualapai heritage. He is best known for his role as shapeshifter Embry Call in ''The Twilight Saga (film series), The Twilight Saga,'' as well as Junior in the TV series ''The Red Road (TV series ...
(
Hualapai The Hualapai ( , ) are a federally recognized Native American tribe in Arizona with about 2300 enrolled citizens. Approximately 1353 enrolled citizens reside on the Hualapai Reservation, which spans over three counties in Northern Arizona ( Coc ...
) as Antonio Freeman * Sam Griesel as Mason Troy * Avery Hale (Mandan/Hidatsa/San Carlos Apache/San Felipe Pueblo) as Miles Martinez * Jojo Jackson (Diné) as Warlance Yazzie *
Julia Jones Julia Jones (born January 23, 1981) is an American actress. She may be best known for playing Leah Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'' film series and Angela Bishop in the television series '' Dexter: New Blood''. Early life and education Jul ...
as Gloria Holiday * Cody Lightning ( Samson Cree Nation) as Micah Tso *
Jessica Matten Jessica Matten (born November 30, 1985) is a Canadian actress, fashion model, and film producer. Early life, family and education Matten was born in Edmonton, Alberta. She has British-Chinese ancestry through her father, as well as Red River ...
as Heather Hobbs * Amber Midthunder (Fort Peck Nakoda/Lakota/Dakota) as Dezbah Weaver * Zoey Reyes as Krista * Jaren K. Robledo (Diné) as Levi Silversmith * Devin Sampson-Craig ( Pyramid Lake Paiute) as Bryson Badonie * River Rayne Thomas (
Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and Ojibwa ethnonyms, other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band governm ...
) as Tyson Yazzie * Ernest Tsosie III (Diné) as Benny Begay * Henry Wilson Jr. (Diné) as Leland Tom


Production

Sydney Freeland Sydney Freeland (born October 29, 1980) is a Native American filmmaker. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation. She wrote and directed the film '' Drunktown's Finest'' (2014), which garnered numerous acclaims after premiering at the Sundance Film ...
was announced as director of the project for
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
in August 2021. Freeland and
Sterlin Harjo Sterlin Harjo (born November 14, 1979)Sam Lewin, , ''Native Times News'', reprinted in ''Canku Ota'', May 24, 2004 (article gives his age as 24 in 2004). is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American filmmaker from Oklahoma. He is ...
had written the script inspired by Michael Powell's nonfiction sports novel ''Canyon Dreams'' (2019). The project was produced by Wise Entertainment, with Maurício and Katie Mota involved. That same month,
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...
and Maverick Carter were announced to have joined the project as producers via The SpringHill Company, with Spencer Beighley and Jamal Henderson executive producers for SpringHill. Former Searchlight chair
Nancy Utley Nancy Utley (née Derk) is an American film producer and studio executive. She held the positions Executive Vice President of Marketing at 20th Century Fox and co-president and co-chairman of Searchlight Pictures. Under Utley’s leadership, Sear ...
also produced via her Lake Ellyn Entertainment production house.


Filming

In April 2023, ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' reported that principal photography was underway and taking place in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
with filming on the
Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...
, with the permission and support of the local sovereign tribal nations.


Release

''Rez Ball'' premiered at the
2024 Toronto International Film Festival The 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 5–15, 2024. The festival opened with David Gordon Green's film ''Nutcrackers (film), Nutcrackers'', and closed with Rebel Wilson's directorial debut film ''The Deb (fil ...
on September 8, 2024, and was released on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
on September 27, 2024.


Reception


See also

*
List of basketball films This is a list of films about basketball, featuring notable films where basketball plays a central role in the development of the plot. List See also * List of sports films * List of highest-grossing sports films References {{Sports films ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rez Ball 2024 films 2024 drama films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 2020s high school films 2020s sports drama films 2020s teen drama films American basketball films American high school films American sports drama films American teen drama films Chernin Entertainment films Films about high school sports Films about Native Americans Films scored by Dan Deacon Films shot in New Mexico English-language sports drama films