Q Ball

Michael Tolajian's documentary follows a basketball team formed inside San Quentin Prison. The team is also called the Warriors, the same name as the NBA champions across the bay; the difference is that this one can only play home games. The film turns around three men: Harry Smith, close to parole and still thinking about playing professionally, Anthony Ammons, serving life and mentoring younger prisoners, and Rafael Cuevas, the head coach, convicted of murder. The documentary hides nobody's crime and reduces nobody to it either, presenting the team not as recreation but as a form of family. It promises no redemption.