Exclusive: Director Shane Belcourt talks basketball drama Warrior Strong
Currently in theaters and Available to Buy or Rent from Quiver Distribution is the basketball drama Warrior Strong, directed by Shane Belcourt and starring Andrew Dice Clay (A Star is Born, Blue Jasmine, Hulu’s “Pam and Tommy”) and Jordan Johnson-Hinds (“The Endgame,” Ambush).
When BILAL IRVING left his small hometown bound for a basketball career worthy of his athletic gifts, he was sure he would never return. When he’s suspended from the Chinese pro basketball league, he finds himself desperate for an opportunity to repair his image, and what could change a ‘coach-killer’ narrative better than returning home to coach his old high school team? The only problem: his old coach, AVERY SCHMIDT, still holds the reins to the team with an iron fist. It’s only after a near-fatal heart attack that Coach Schmidt is forced to accept a co-coach he stubbornly doesn’t think he needs. What everyone can agree on is that this ragtag team of high school basketball players desperately needs help from someone.
They barely get along, let alone know how to play together, and that’s not the only hurdle the team has to overcome. Bilal and Coach Schmidt have some very different opinions on how the team should be run, not to mention a deep emotional rift about their past which has never been resolved. Forced to work together, Bilal and Schmidt have to learn from each other and realize that they both have to grow before they can teach the kids the life lessons they will need to become champions.
In the vein of the great sports underdog movies like Hoosiers, Bad News Bears and The Blind Spot, Warrior Strong is a heartwarming story of triumph both on and off the court.
Shane Belcourt is a four-time CSA-nominated Director, with award-winning narrative and documentary works in both film and TV. He has directed two narrative feature films, TKARONTO and RED ROVER.
In documentary, Shane directed KAHA:WI, which won a CSC award for Best Cinematography in 2016, along with a CSA Best Director nomination. As well, Shane co-directed (with Lisa Jackson) the CBC one-hour INDICTMENT: THE CRIMES OF SHELLY CHARTIER which won Best Doc at imagineNATIVE. Shane created AMPLIFY, a 13-part music documentary series which airs on APTN which is going into its third season. Recently Shane directed the feature documentary BEAUTIFUL SCARS, about internationally acclaimed songwriter Tom Wilson for TVO, and garnered a CSA nomination for Best Director in 2023.
While awaiting release on his third narrative feature film, WARRIOR STRONG, Shane is currently directing the feature documentary NADAAMAAIS which received Telefilm funding and set for release in 2024.
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales spoke to Belcourt about directing the film and working with Dice Clay and Johnson Hinds.