Navajo Nation – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

WEEK IN WOMEN: Sydney Freeland’s REZ BALL looks to score on Netflix – Brandy McDonnell reports

September 25, 2024September 28, 2024 Brandy McDonnell basketball, Chuska, Ernest Tsosie III, Jessica Matten, Julia Jones, Kauchani Bratt, Kusem Goodwind, Michael Powell, Native American, Navajo Nation, netflix, New Mexico, Rez Ball, Sterlin Harjo, Sydney Freeland

Navaho filmmaker Sydney Freeland’s Native American basketball drama Rez Ball is tipping off Sept. 27 on Netflix. Rez Ball is a sports drama that follows the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from Chuska, New Mexico, that must band together after losing their star player if they want to keep their quest for a state championship alive. It’s an all-American underdog story about Navajo kids and coaches told from an all-American perspective that has too often been overlooked.

Reviews

REZ BALL – Review by Ann Lewinson

September 19, 2024September 25, 2024 Ann Lewinson basketball, Chuska, Ernest Tsosie III, Jessica Matten, Julia Jones, Kauchani Bratt, Kusem Goodwind, Michael Powell, Native American, Navajo Nation, netflix, New Mexico, Rez Ball, Sterlin Harjo, Sydney Freeland

Much like Friday Night Lights, high school basketball is everything in sparsely populated, remote Chuska, New Mexico. But for the Chuska Warriors, expectations are lowered after the team loses its star player Nataanii Jackson (Kusem Goodwind). It falls on his best friend, Jimmy Holiday (Kauchani Bratt, a former high school basketball player making a solid acting debut) and the team’s coach, retired WNBA player Heather Hobbs (Jessica Matten) to rally the team. But the low morale Jimmy and his teammates struggle with isn’t just situational—it’s systemic. Movies like this aren’t called “inspirational” for nothing. So while Rez Ball may not be a slam dunk, it gets the job done.

Reviews

DARK WINDS – Review by Diane Carson

July 18, 2024July 19, 2024 Diane Carson amc, Dark Winds, drama series, Graham Roland, Leaphorn and Chee, Navajo Nation, Noah Emmerich, rainn wilson, Zahn McClarnon

Dark Winds tells Diné stories from their perspective. Set on the Navajo Nation, based on author Tony Hillerman’s novel series Leaphorn and Chee, Dark Winds foregrounds investigations into murders and mayhem by Tribal Policeman, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, his deputy Jim Chee, and Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito. The two seasons, six episodes each, immerse viewers in the reservation near Monument Valley with events straddling forensic and spiritual realms.