Netflix’s ‘Rez Ball’ Provides A New Fresh Take On Classic Sports Movies

When you think of sports movies like Hoosiers and Remember the Titans you think of classic American stories about grit, teamwork and victory against all odds. But what you’ve rarely seen in a sports film is that story told from the perspective of America’s First People.

That should change with the debut of Rez Ball, coming to Netflix on September 27. The movie follows the Chuska Warriors high school basketball team in Chuska, New Mexico that is forced to regroup after its star player is killed.

Rez Ball has some heavy hitters behind it representing both hoops and Native American creatives. The movie was produced by James’ SpringHill Entertainment and was co-written by Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo and director Sydney Freeland. Reservation Dogs is the acclaimed FX comedy series about four kids living on a reservation in rural Oklahoma.

Rez Ball was shot on location in New Mexico with the support and permission of the Navajo Nation and other sovereign tribes.

Cast members include Kauchani Bratt, Dallas Goldtooth (Reservation Dogs), Kiowa Gordon, Julia Jones (The Mandalorian), Jessica Matten, (Dark Winds) Amber Midthunder, Cody Lightning (Echo) Ernest Tsosie (Better Call Saul) and newcomers Damian Henry Castellane, Devin Sampson-Craig, Jojo Jackson, Avery Hale, Hunter Redhorse Arthur, River Rayne Thomas, Henry Wilson, Jr. Kusem Goodwind, Zoey Reyes and Jaren K. Robledo.

Freeland, who is Native American and played basketball in high school, says that Rez Ball, based on the book Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Reservation by Michael Powell tells a familiar story from a different perspective.

“You have these small arenas, but they’re just packed with people,” she told Netflix.com. “Where we were, we don’t have professional teams. We don’t have college teams. A lot of that falls on high school; where a lot of these native teams have had the most success is the high school level. So you get this huge turnout and this rabid fan base. So for us, it was like, ‘Oh, this is West Texas high school football. This is Friday Night Lights, but it is from an Indigenous perspective.’ ”

Watch the trailer below:

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