Steve James: Hoop Dreams

Steve James needs no introduction. In my opinion, the most prolific sports documentarian of all time. He took his vision from the Cabrini Greens playground in Chicago to what became Hoop Dreams, the most successful sports doc of all time, the film that paved the way for the proliferation of Sports Films on HBO Sports, 30 for 30, and Netflix. James has since gone on to produce and direct a variety of films from Prefontaine to America to Me, an award winning docuseries on the education system in Chicago , but in this conversation we deep dive into the  Legendary Hoop Dreams….

 Steve James’ hoop dreams started on the courts of Hampton Va where he had his first experience with basketball and race.  From there he studied at James Madison University before his heart led him to follow his future wife to Southern Illinois.  Steve shares the films that inspired him when he first started and tells us how stories from his father helped pushed him to return home to make a film about a basketball icon who had gotten into some trouble in a bowling alley.  It is our pleasure to have Steve James on this episode of beyond the lens presented by Diesel Films.