Rez Ball, a film for all sports fans, headed to Netflix this Friday

Rez Ball is bringing Navajo basketball into homes this Friday following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

Inspired by a series of New York Times articles, the feature film is about the Navajo Nation's Chuska Warriors basketball team and their quest to win the championships after their community endures a devastating loss.

Director Sydney Freeland said she wasn't looking to do a movie about basketball on the reserve when she was approached by the production company that had purchased the rights to the series.

"This kind of fell out of the sky in the best possible way," Freeland said. 

Freeland is a Navajo filmmaker who grew up in New Mexico. Rez Ball is her third feature film. She has also directed episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Rutherford Falls, and Reservation Dogs. The film was co-written by Reservation Dogs creator Sterlin Harjo.

Freeland said she grew up playing basketball, although she wasn't very good, and knows it has a huge following. She said a "whole community will shut down, show up for a game. You get this huge following for the teams."

Some of the championship scenes in Rez Ball are from an actual championship game between two First Nations women's teams.

"You see a lot of packed stadiums and packed crowds, and that came from real people that we were able to shoot from the New Mexico state tournament," Freeland said.

Rez Ball is produced by The SpringHill Company, co-owned by NBA star LeBron James. Freeland said having the company on board was indispensable because of its basketball infrasructure and connections, including a basketball choreographer for scenes that required actors to do plays over and over again.

First time actor Jojo Jackson, who plays Warlance Yazzie, said he related to the character because he's been playing basketball and going to games on the Navajo Nation most of his life. He said some of his co-stars shared his first-time acting jitters.

"Me and the guys genuinely had that chemistry and had that connection with each other because we were all in the same boat and we were all going through it," he said. 

Jackson said he gets emotional every time he watches the film, particularly when he remembers the laughter behind each take. 

He said the film is special because of its accurate Diné (Navajo) representation, especially in language.

"I don't think there is one word in it that is pronounced wrong or funny," he said.

"A lot of us guys had like intensive Navajo language classes leading up to the first day we stepped in front of the camera."

Devin Sampson-Craig also had his first major acting role in Rez Ball as Bryson Badonie. He's from the Yakama Nation in Washington state and Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in Nevada.

He said authenticity is important when it comes to Indigenous cinema and that he uses his language as often as he can.

He said growing up he was taught that without his language he would have no culture. Taking on the role of a fluent Navajo speaker in Rez Ball was important to him.

"For me to play that specific role and take on that specific trait about Bryson, it meant everything to me," Sampson-Craig said.