An eye-opening portrait of the game that is blossoming in Africa today


From Senegal - African Hoop Dreams provides a glimpse into the daily lives of two aspiring young players in Dakar, Senegal, as they balance family, team, work and school commitments in the trying conditions of a developing country. The highlight of Joah's and Daouda's day is basketball practice, held each evening on an outdoor court of cracked asphalt. As night falls, dimly lit bulbs barely illuminate the bent, net-less rims. These poor conditions do nothing, however, to dampen the young mens' passion and determination to reach the league championship game, the outcome of which few of their fellow Senegalese will even notice.

to Angola - In a parallel storyline, the film cuts to Angola, thousands of kilometers to the south, to witness the "African Cup of Nations", an all-Africa tournament which determines the continent's lone representative to the Olympics. The Angolan National Team, a close-knit group with eight African Cup titles preceding them, are the favourites. Winning is the only option, and each Angolan player carries the hopes and dreams of an entire nation on his broad shoulders. African Hoop Dreams captures the excitement and popularity of basketball in this recently war-torn country, as it accompanies the Angolan team on a quest to reach the summit of African basketball.

the USA - The film jumps to the U.S. to focus on two African players who have reached the summit of American basketball and are living every young basketballer's dream. The Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng from Sudan and the Dallas Mavericks' Desagana Diop of Senegal recount their journey from Africa to basketball's greatest league, the NBA, and highlight the potential of African players to increasingly impact the sport.

and South Africa - The film then returns home to Africa for the NBA's annual "Basketball Without Borders" camp in South Africa, where some of the continent's most talented and promising young players are tutored in basketball, as well as life skills, thereby laying the foundation for success for generations to come.

A unique and timely film, African Hoop Dreams takes viewers on a tour of discovery with dynamic and original footage, and reveals the present-day hope, joy and excitement that surrounds the game on a continent which promises to change the landscape of basketball forever.