“Streetball” was my first feature length documentary and started my collaboration with my wife Christina. Production began in the fall of 2008 and wrapped with our world premiere in Cape Town in the spring of 2010. The project was funded by the non-profit From Us With Love and followed the street soccer team from Cape Town, South Africa.
In Cape Town, there are two realities. Sixteen years after the end of apartheid, South Africa prepared to host the FIFA World Cup and the country was ripe with celebration. New hot spots, airports and stadiums were built to welcome travelers from around the world. However, there remained a generation that lives in extreme poverty, with many youth falling into lives of violence, drugs and abuse.
“Streetball” is a fast paced documentary that tells the stories of South Africa’s 2008-2009 Homeless World Cup teams. The Homeless World Cup is an annual soccer tournament that draws teams from over 56 countries—comprised of homeless and the excluded. The SA Squad consists of ex-convicts, former gangsters, orphans and recovering drug addicts that band together to represent their country, proving that no one is beyond redemption. “Streetball” is a story of hope and of the resilience that dwells within the human spirit. But while these mens’ dreams are simply to have a home and to be recognized as people who need care, often times the realization of those dreams is accompanied by a sobering reality.
Streetball (2010)
Documentary Feature film
72 minutes
