Elevate

Founded by the Director of Scouting for the Dallas Mavericks, the SEEDS Academy in Senegal is a haven for young athletes who want a safe place to perfect their basketball skills. Filmed over four years, ELEVATE documents the extraordinary personal journeys of four particularly tall West African Muslim teenage boys with NBA dreams. Recruited for both their physical and academic skills, Assane, Dethie, Byago and Aziz accept basketball scholarships in the United States, and are whisked from the dilapidated cement courts of Senegal to upscale American prep schools. They face the daunting challenges of alienation, a foreign language, American-style basketball and an unfamiliar American culture rife with African stereotypes. But with courage, humor, and remarkable resilience, they relentlessly pursue their dreams - to obtain an education and a shot at the NBA.

"ENDEARING AND VIBRANTLY PHOTOGRAPHED... UPBEAT BUT NEVER SUGARCOATED."
-Aaron Hillis, THE VILLAGE VOICE

"EXHILARATING... THE STORIES IN ELEVATE ARE BOTH SOBERING AND THRILLING."
-John Anderson, VARIETY