Film: Hoop Dreams

Yale FIlm Archive: Sundance Revisited Film Series Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994, 35mm, 170 mins) A coming-of-age story, an American epic, and one of the greatest documentaries of all time, Hoop Dreams brings us two Chicago teenagers whose basketball talent offers hope for brighter futures. Filmed over five years, it follows family struggles, financial pressures, schoolwork, injuries, and the realities of how race and class complicate the boys’ ambitions. Expansive without ever losing sight of the individual, the film finds drama not in the buzzer-beaters, but in the daily grind of chasing a dream. “The most powerful movie about sports ever made” (Hal Hinson). 35mm print from the Yale Film Archive. Sundance Revisited features a selection of films from our collection that had their American or world premieres at the festival. Yale Film Archive screenings are always free and open to the public. See the full film schedule here.