By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Till Schauder
Country: germany, iran, united_states
Year: 2013
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753846/combined
Thom says: “Here’s a fine offering from ever-reliable Film Movement, this one a documentary. I was thrilled to see the production collaboration between Iran & the US although the nature of the story most probably accounts for that. Kevin Sheppard is an African American professional basketball player who decides to play for the Iranian Super League basketball team A.S. Shiraz for a year, leaving his fiancée back home in the Virgin Islands. He arrives in Iran to discover that his team members are largely a rag-tag, inadequately prepared group, which he naturally finds discouraging. He rooms with a Serbian fellow teammate who is very large but adorable. While trying to whip his team into shape along with the frustrated coach, he meets Iranian culture head-on and is amazed by all the laws and restrictions he encounters. While at a hospital for treatment to a minor injury he befriends Hilda, a physiotherapist, and she brings two of her friends Elaheh & Laleh to continually visit with Kevin & Zoran. There is no romance between the quintets but the growing friendship speaks volumes about the ability of people to adapt to new situations and the open-mindedness of those who want to learn, grow, and improve their lives through learning, knowledge, & understanding. The A.S. Shiraz team also grows and improves through a coming together and willingness to practice and learn. For those that like basketball the games are exciting.
“Sheppard eventually stays for two more years and is still in contact with one of the three lovely Iranian women. He does end up marrying his fiancée Leah, although she never goes to Iran with him. While certainly critical of the current Iran regime it’s never underhanded, polemic, or dismissive of the people they come in contact with. Really a lovely effort that pleas for a greater understanding of all the people of the world. 4.5 cats”