A hot lineup including Barack Obama, Steph Curry and hip hop star J. Cole are to feature in the long-gestating Fremantle documentary about the African basketball league.
Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League was first announced nearly three years ago and counts Beckham director and Succession star Fisher Stevens amongst its EPs, while it is exec produced, written and co-directed by Richard Brown (True Detective).
Obama, Cole and Curry will feature “extensively,” Fremantle said, and will be joined by the likes of NBA legend Joakim Noah, Nigerian born Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri, Cameroonian NBA star Pascal Siakam and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
The former POTUS, a strategic partner of NBA Africa, will explain the enormous importance of sports to the African continent’s future and discuss his involvement in the development of the African continent post-presidency, as well as the inherent challenges to creating a league across a continent comprising 54 countries. J Cole, meanwhile, will talk about his life-changing experience of playing in the first ever Basketball Africa League (BAL) tournament and NBA Commissioner Silver will discuss the underlying vision.
The series also explores the complex relationship between America and Africa and how The BAL is a bridge between the two.
“From the beginning it was clear that the launch of a Pan African Sports League consisting of 12 teams from 12 countries across the most diverse continent in the world presented an exciting opportunity for a thrilling documentary series,” said Brown and co-director Tebogo Malope. “Then the reality superseded all expectations as we were able to dive deeply into the stories of some fascinating and extraordinary characters; from players and coaches to the visionaries behind the project.”
Oscar-winner Stevens is EP alongside Ujiri and multiple award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Akin Omotoso (Rise, The Giannis Antenkoumpo Story). Fremantle is handling international distribution and is presenting this week at the London TV Screenings.
