We The West Movie of Obsessed Grizzlies Fans Released!

First, enjoy:

This film, by Finding Big Country’s Kat Jayme, looks at the stories of four Vancouver Grizzlies fans who share a story of hundreds, maybe thousands, of still-rabid basketball fans in Vancouver who want their team back.

Who we meet in the film are:

• Tony: Played ball with his big bro and lost something of his relationship when he lost the team.
• Michelle: Came to Canada from Shanghai and found comfort and community in basketball, and lost it when she lost her team.
• Christine: A lifelong collector of Grizzlies gear who says she never was the same after her team left.
• Dan: A fan from Victoria who’d take the ferry over to watch his team, and was so put off by them leaving he never forget and wrote a song about his team leaving. You may know him as Transit22!

We get to see Tony work on controlling his emotions as basketball and family collide into what sport is supposed to be.

We see Christina and her father connect as we see sport for what it is supposed to be.

We see Michelle share letters sent back to China mixed with her love of the game as we see sport for what it is supposed to be.

We see Dan make a career out of his enduring passion and we see sport for what it is supposed to be.

I’m often reminded of Tata Madiba, Nelson Mandela you call him here, and what he taught me during my years in South Africa:

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.” Nelson Mandela

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This is what we see in this film. This is what I see for Vancouver with a team once more as avenues for those in despair, youth without a voice, and those who need opportunities to unite across racial barriers get this through one of the world’s most global games.

As always, thank you Tata for showing us a better way to see the world.