Chris Pratt Talks Alaskan Nets Documentary; Watch A New Clip [Exclusive]
Good Deed Entertainment has not only provided us an exclusive extended clip from the forthcoming documentary "Alaskan Nets," but they've also let us have a short Q&A with the moving documentary's executive producer Chris Pratt of "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Jurassic World" fame. Yes, that Chris Pratt. The superstar spent much of his youth in Alaska and recognized the story's importance, and it's always wonderful when someone of his caliber puts his weight behind a project with a social impact like this one.
The winner of the Audience Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, "Alaskan Nets" hails from director Jeff Harasimowicz and tells the story of one Alaskan community's love of basketball and how that love rallies them together as the Metlakatla Chiefs try for their first championship in three decades. The doc is available on digital and VOD release today!
Here is the official synopsis:
Off the coast of Southeast Alaska lies an island — remote, largely hidden from the outside world and home to the Tsimshian natives of Alaska's last remaining native reserve: Metlakatla. For more than a century, two sacred traditions have defined Metlakatla: fishing and basketball. Audiences will witness the improbable journey of cousins Danny Marsden and DJ King, fishermen and stars of the high school basketball team as they lead their team and town toward their first state championship in more than 30 years – the only thing that will bring life back to an island that has undergone unimaginable tragedy.
'I spent a portion of my childhood in Alaska.'
How did you come across this story? Was it something you had heard about prior to the doc?
Chris Pratt: The film was brought to Indivisible Productions by the director Jeff who had personally financed the piece. I hadn't heard of it before I saw the film, but it really resonated with me given I spent a portion of my childhood in Alaska and grew up in a town fiercely dedicated to -and in many ways defined by their high school sports programs.
In what ways did your own Alaskan upbringing enable you to relate to the hardships and isolation of the Metlakatla people?
I had many Inuit friends as a kid. Our babysitter Rose had three boys. When I saw the film it reminded me of them. Riding quads, shooting guns on the outskirts of town, communities gathering around the tragedy of lives lost too young. It deeply reflected my own story. I felt immediately compelled to give them our platform.
"Add a talking raccoon and a couple of dinosaurs and we'll talk!"
Why do you think a sport like basketball has the power to bring a community like Met together the way it does so powerfully in this movie?
What is community if not the connection between inhabitants of a certain region through hope, pride, suffering and sacrifice. Basketball, along with the local fishing industry is one of the only threads that weaves the fabric of Metlakatla together. Sports teams allow us to be part of something bigger than ourselves, they give us an identity. With Alaskan Nets the audience gets to follow along as these wonderful young men search for meaning. Basketball, the State Championship, the legacy means everything to them and because we love them it means everything to us too.
What was a moment in the movie that made you realize this was an exceptional documentary, one you wanted to throw your weight behind?
I knew very early on in watching the movie that I wanted to help see it through. The relationships between the kids, the expectations of their community, the weight of the world on their shoulders. I felt it. I recognized it. Seeing that I knew I wanted to help articulate that feeling to a broader audience.
Do you see the potential for "Alaskan Nets" to eventually be transformed into a narrative feature ... possibly starring you as coach TJ Scott?
Who knows. It's not a bad idea. Add a talking raccoon and a couple of dinosaurs and we'll talk! Ha!