Mon Oct 26th, 7pm – 9pm
Columbia College Chicago
Film Row Cinema, 8th floor
1104 S. Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL, 60605

FREE Admission, open to the public and great for all ages!

First exhibited at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary, “Hoop Dreams” is the remarkable true story of two American dreamers on the courts of the game they love.

Plucked from the streets and given the opportunity to attend a suburban prep school and play for a legendary high school coach, William Gates and Arthur Agee both soon discover that their dreams of NBA glory become obscured amid the intense pressures of academics, family life, economics and athletic competitiveness. But most importantly, both boys remain focused on their dream, no matter how hard tragedy strikes or how desperate their situation becomes. It is their faith in the game that unites their family and gives each person hope. And it is this faith that ultimately allows them to build upon their failures as well as their triumphs and make for themselves a potentially better life.

It’s been 15 years since Kartemquin Films first released the award-winning documentary Hoop Dreams. We are in a state of emergency to save our youth and while the current generation may have never heard of the film; the re-occurring messages of hope in this film still ring true today. The community panel discussions is an opportunity to create, engage and bridge the generational gap with the power of cinema to implement effective solutions to the social justice issues that affect us all.

Topics to be discussed by the panel: Education, Ethics, Pressure, Family, Finances, Politics, Higher Education, Non-Violence and many more. Film clips from HOOP DREAMS and NO CROSSOVER will be shown.
The Panel: Gordon Quinn, Steve James, Peter Gilbert, Adam Singer, Pastor Reggie Royal, Pastor William Gates, Arthur Agee with participation from Chicago’ s leading youth media organizations MAGIC, BMB 2025, SWYC, Arab American Action Network CTVN and more!
Moderators: Youth discussion led by MAGIC (Bryan Echols)
Message: Education is the best offense

Parking: Street and meter parking are available. Garage and open lot parking is also available along Wabash street.

“When somebody said, ‘When you get to the NBA, don’t forget about me,’ I should have said, ‘If I don’t make it, don’t forget about me.’”-William Gates, Hoop Dreams