St. Louis basketball lovers who happen to be movie enthusiasts have been waiting for this moment since Streetballers debuted at Cinema St. Louis’ International Film Festival last year.
For those more than 450 folks (that included friends, family, those with ties to the film as well as local movie buffs) who crowded into the screening room at the Tivoli to see the movie that night, the response was unanimous.
The world – or at least the entire local community – needed to have an opportunity to see this cinematic contribution that reflects the city from start to finish.
Tomorrow night (Friday, Aug. 21), the prayers of many will be answered.
The film will be on the marquis for two of the most popular theatres in town – the Tivoli and Ronnie’s Cine. It’s a milestone for St. Louis filmmakers. The minds behind the movie hope it will catapult them into the national spotlight as they work to represent the region in film.
“I wanted the film to be St. Louis, authentic and to be about real issues,” said writer, director and star Matt Krentz.
“From an artistic standpoint, I wanted young kids and people in St. Louis who think it’s impossible to be a filmmaker to look at this and have the faith that they can do this.”
The film is about believing in oneself and moving beyond personal obstacles to improve life for the entire community.
What is most compelling about Streetballers is that it captures St. Louis in black and white.
Krentz, who is white, and co-star Jimmy McKinney, who is black, play two community college basketball players with different backgrounds but similar issues as they attempt to move beyond their personal circumstances towards success and happiness.
“The beauty of this film is that it offers cultural pluralism,” said producer Patrick Rooney. “It’s about starting to show the viewpoints for all cultures and show that we are all connected.”
Somehow through Krentz manages to give viewers the overwhelming sense that as a community we are all in this together.
“It’s a collection of very personal stories shared by close friends, family and just people,” Krentz said. “It’s not just my story – it’s a lot of people’s story about trying to find a way out.”
One of the people who could relate to the story is Streetballers actor and producer Craig Thomas. He was introduced to the project five years ago when Krentz was looking to cast a trailer for the film. After Thomas read the script, the rest was history.
“Somehow this white guy found a way to capture my life on paper,” Thomas said. “I told him that I was in and I would help him anyway that I can.”
Being “in” not only meant acting but over the years working to pull together the resources to bring Krentz’s dream of a feature film to reality.
It would take five years and countless offerings of blood, sweat and tears, but Streetballers arrived at film festivals in St. Louis and around the country in 2008.
The film went on to win several awards, including Black Hollywood Film Festival’s Jury Award, being named the Official Selection for both the Urban World Film Festival of New York and the U.S. Sports Film Festival in Philadelphia.
Streetballers also achieved the highest ranking in the history of the St. Louis International Film Festival – beating out Oscar winners Juno and Slumdog Millionaire.
There even has been interest from other countries such as Poland, Italy and the Philippines to present Streetballers to audiences in those nations.
For now, the film is headed for local theaters. The producers are hoping to have the highest per screen theater average in the area for Streetballers for the first weekend of its local release.
“If everyone in St. Louis comes out, we will have the opportunity to show the film in New York, Los Angeles and other cities,” Krentz said. “This is a film that is representing to St. Louis – and it wasn’t contrived in Hollywood. It happened right here in our neighborhoods.”
Streetballers opens tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 21) at the Landmark Tivoli (6350 Delmar in the Loop) and Wehrenberg Ronnie’s 20 Cine (5320 S. Lindbergh). For more information, visit www.streetballersthemovie.com.
