'FIRE' POWER

By ADAM BUCKMAN

CONEY Island is 2,917 miles away from Portland, Ore., but the journey was a lot longer than that for Sebastian Telfair.

The story of this high school basketball phenom (Abraham Lincoln High, class of '04) is told in this new documentary produced by ESPN that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and now comes to television for the first time tomorrow night.

Telfair, a 6'0" point guard from the Coney Island projects, was chosen in the 13th round of the 2004 NBA draft by the Portland Trailblazers, straight out of high school.

Draft day - June 24, 2004 - is essentially where the documentary ends (except for a brief, sweet coda tacked on right after it).

Before you get to that point, however, you will travel with Sebastian - and his Lincoln High teammates, coaches, brothers and mother - as he leads his team to its third consecutive city championship.

For most of us, the boardwalk, beach, Nathan's and the Cyclone at Astroland Park are the most famous attractions in Coney Island.

But as you will learn if you watch "Through the Fire," for the people who live in Coney Island, basketball is a much deeper passion than the area's seaside amusements.

Stephon Marbury of the Knicks grew up in an apartment on the floor above Sebastian. The two are cousins.

In addition, one of Sebastian's brothers, Jamel Thomas, was a star at Providence.

Jamel expected to be drafted by the NBA, but was not. In the film, he does everything he can to ensure that Sebastian does not experience the same disappointment.

In one of the film's more illuminating segments, Jamel brings Sebastian to Greece - where Jamel is playing pro ball - to work out with him prior to the draft.

The sequence provides a fascinating look at basketball abroad - something we don't get a chance to see very often.

But most of the action in "Through the Fire" takes place much closer to home.

More than just a documentary about basketball, this lovely movie is one of the best I've ever seen about growing up in New York City, where once in a while, dreams really can come true.

"Through the Fire"

4 STARS

THROUGH THE FIRE. Sunday night at 8, ESPN.

By Richard Huff

Dreams of NBA superstardom are as prevalent around New York city as well, basketball goals. But realizing those dreams is also about as tough as keeping a good net on the rims.

Some dreams do come true, though, and ESPN's telecast Sunday at 8 p.m. of "Through the Fire," follows one of them - Coney Island hoop star Sebastian Telfair - as he plays his way off the streets and into the NBA.

The film tails Telfair, a cousin of the Knicks' Stephon Marbury, during his senior year at Lincoln High School, and ultimately as he enters the NBA's draft.

Telfair is a star, no doubt, making it fun to watch as he leads his high school team to the championship and struggles with a decision of a lifetime: playing in college or going pro.

But there's a lot more going on here than just a basketball movie. And Telfair's story isn't just his. It's the story of one of his brothers, Jamel Thomas, and his mother, who previously had put their hopes for financial freedom on Thomas' shot at the NBA.

Thomas never made it, though, breaking his mother's heart. "The whole house was crying. It was like, 'What was I supposed to do?' " Thomas recalls in "Through the Fire." "It was the worst day in my life."

It's with this backdrop of dashed dreams that directors John Hock and Alastair Christopher filmed Telfair and his family, and spent time around the Coney Island basketball courts where Telfair honed his game.

"Right here, this is MSG. We call it the Garden," Telfair tells the camera early on.

"Every block is a basketball court," he said. "You've got no choice but to play basketball."

And play he does. Telfair started out his senior season by signing a deal to go to Louisville and play for Rick Pitino. Over the course of the film, Telfair struggles with that decision, as he weighs the potential instant huge payday of a sneaker deal and whether he'll have a realistic shot at being an early-round draft pick.

Thomas has groomed Telfair for this moment, and it shows. Telfair stays out of trouble, avoids getting tattoos, and when it counts, shows all the right stuff on the court for NBA scouts.

Thomas has a lot riding on Telfair. He's now playing ball in Greece, having never been drafted, while his own NBA dreams ride on Telfair's shoulders.

"Out here, basketball saves a lot of us," says Jeffrey Morton, the brother of Lincoln's coach. "Everybody out here wants to be an NBA player."

Hock and Christopher do a good job letting those involved tell the story, and show emotions in this spare but effective documentary.

In keeping with the family aspect of the story, when Telfair is drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, the camera is not on Telfair, but Thomas, who breaks down crying, as do the others in his family. The real-life moments that follow are so touching and emotional that it will be hard for anyone with a heart to keep his eyes dry.

Originally published on March 11, 2006

Through the Fire

Documentary. (1:43). Not rated: Strong language.

It's one thing for a filmmaker to find a great story and reconstruct it as a sort of documentary feature story. It's another to see that story developing and capture it on the fly.

That's what Jonathan Hock accomplished with this superb, ultimately exhilarating account of Coney Island basketball phenom Sebastian Telfair's senior year at Lincoln High. With Hock's cameras in the midst of every game and seemingly private moment in Telfair's life, we watch him lead his team to the state championship, pose for the cover of Sports Illustrated and make his choice between a college scholarship or an Adidas contract and direct shot at the NBA.

With his broad smile and winning personality, Telfair (a cousin of Knick Stephon Marbury) is an easy star to follow, and his coolness under pressure - both to succeed on the court and to earn his entire family a ticket out of the projects - makes his tale a hoop dream for the ages.

- Jack Mathews

Originally published on February 10, 2006

Jay Carr

STAFF WRITER

February 9, 2006

Through the Fire

Jonathan Hock's documentary, "Through the Fire," takes up where "Hoop Dreams" left off. All-NYC point guard Sebastian Telfair, the pride of Coney Island's Lincoln High School, not only carries the ball and the film, but also some superhuman pressures to cash in big and deliver his family from poverty.

Astonishingly poised and every bit as image-savvy as Tiger Woods or Derek Jeter, Telfair hardly ever makes a wrong move, on the court or off. But the fact that he's got it all turns the film into an unbearably suspenseful cliffhanger. When he goes down with a hurt ankle, you stop breathing. When he scores a lucrative sneaker contract, you fear the fancy sneakers might make him a target.

Because ESPN sponsored it, the film shies away from looking hard at the value system that could engulf Telfair. But it's the year's most gripping film yet.

Time Out New York

By Damon Smith

2/9/2006

In this captivating documentary, Jonathan Hock trails hotshot Coney Island baller Sebastian Telfair during his senior year, when the charismatic point guard led his Lincoln High School team to the 2004 city championships at Madison Square Garden. But there's a lot more at stake than a trophy: Committed to coach Rick Pitino and the University of Louisville, yet lured by the prospect of sneaker contracts and untold wealth as a big-league player, Telfair faces the tough decision of whether to attend college or enter the NBA draft. With pro scouts prowling on the sidelines, Telfair's also wise to the fact that his older brother Jamel Thomas, a Big East star, failed to make the cut years before and now labors as a contract hooper in Greece.

Although "Through the Fire" touches on themes examined in "Hoop Dreams" - family bonds, ghetto aspiration, crushed hopes, an exploitative industry - Hock's film is structured as a pure adrenaline rush, savoring the emotional highs of Telfair's year of triumph with unusually visceral, nerve-jangling game sequences courtesy of embedded lensman Alastair Christopher. Candid interviews with aging street players and assistant coach Daniel Turner - Telfair's eldest brother and number one fan - add poignancy to the story, as does the late presence of Thomas. Yet the undisputed star is Telfair himself, a charming, articulate striver well aware that basketball is "no game," but a million-dollar biz that thrives on wholesome images.

MOVIE REVIEW

Basketball documentary drives home its point

By Wesley Morris, Globe Staff | February 10, 2006

In 2003, Sebastian Telfair was an 11th grader and the biggest star on New York City's public basketball courts. Like most popular high school basketball players, Telfair had a fan club, but few people in the history of high school ball had Jay-Z, Ahmad Rashad, and Derek Jeter perched on the sidelines of their games. Telfair did, and he jolted them out of their seats with his electric shot-making. Coach Rick Pitino personally tried to woo Telfair to come play Division 1 ball for him at the University of Louisville, but he could see the writing on the wall: the NBA was hot for Telfair, too.

Jonathan Hock's documentary ''Through the Fire" trails Telfair for the year he weighed his options. The film has the trappings typically associated with a must-have basketball prospect. Telfair lives with his siblings and single mother in a Coney Island housing project. He wants to move his family somewhere safer, and the NBA is a compelling express route. But what Hock's film finds is much richer and more resonant than the average exit-from-the-ghetto tale.

For starters, Telfair isn't the first kid in his family to get near the NBA draft. His brother Jamel Thomas, who spent four years playing for Providence College, was burned in 1999. What seemed to be a sure thing wasn't, and Jamel, seduced and essentially abandoned, went off to play in European leagues. The news broke his mother's heart. And it couldn't have been easy for anybody in that household to know that Jamel and Sebastian's cousin, Knicks star Stephon Marbury, had been drafted as a college freshman in 1996. Sebastian's fortunes seem to be déjà vu all over again. ''Through the Fire" follows a young man being lured by the NBA, and quietly captures his transformation as he sails into the corporate marketplace on an endorsement deal. Doubters worry that if Telfair doesn't head to Louisville, he'll be ill-prepared for professional basketball. More than once we hear that he's too short (5 feet 10 inches or 6 feet, depending on which skeptic you ask) and that his shooting is streaky.

The movie is wonderfully attuned to revealing Sebastian and his family as developed characters. Hock clearly likes Telfair, in part for the same reasons that we do: He has a killer smile, and he loves his momma. But he's not a momma's boy. Telfair's miked during some games, and throughout one contest you could fill a dumpster with the trash he talks. At the McDonald's All-American Game, he calls his fellow All-Americans country boys and, during the main event, cajoles players to pass him the ball so he can hand it off to a scorer -- with enough assists he could break a record. Hilariously, he's praised for his selflessness after the game.

Telfair's brazen antics are tinged with burgeoning materialism, and because Hock's aim is a kind of objectivity, he doesn't use commentary from the player's family and friends about his evolution, although his brother Daniel Turner and his coach seem to be just as preoccupied with success' trimmings. But it's hard to blame Telfair for letting his celebrity go to his head. If I were on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the 12th grade, there'd be no living with me either.

Since the NBA drafted Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby in the 1970s, it has always fretted about whether high school kids belong among its elite. The second-guessing began again in 1995 with the drafting of Kevin Garnett: There's no proven farm system in the NBA to groom the players; it sends a bad message about the value of a college education. The association recently set the minimum age at 19. But this is a social dilemma as much as it is a sports-entertainment problem.

What we see in ''Through the Fire" is what we see in urban neighborhoods all over the country. Basketball transcends the merely recreational. It's a vocation for a lot of young men and women that, given the low odds of professional success, seems like a dream that crushes far more spirits than it lifts. But the stakes for a prodigy like Telfair seem unfairly high. College? Or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to raise a family out of poverty? It's sad, but Rick Pitino will probably lose every time.

By RONNIE SCHEIB

Coney Island hoop prodigy Sebastian Telfair's story is told by documaker Jonathan Hock in 'Through the Fire.'

Jonathan Hock's docu jettisons ethical quandaries about the questionable relationship between corporate-funded sports and kids from the projects in favor of a heroic, suspense-filled story that plays like well-structured fiction. With a real-life athlete as talented and charismatic as Coney Island hoop prodigy Sebastian Telfair, almost any outcome would probably have made for good drama, but Hock lucked out when life provided a happy ending. Upbeat Urbanworld documentary prizewinner, full of strong personalities and crisply edited court action, could score well in sports venues.

Since sixth grade, Telfair qualified as a legend in his basketball-obsessed neighborhood. Now in his senior year of high school, scouts follow his games, sportswriters analyze his every move, and Jay-Z and Spike Lee are frequently in the stands watching.

Telfair calls a well-attended press conference to announce his choice of university (Louisville), and when his high school team wins the championship for the third straight year, speculation is rife as to whether he will join the ranks of young players drafted by the NBA straight out of high school.

No sooner does Telfair answer that question, opting to try for pro ball (helped along by the stick-and-carrot coincidence of a fatal shooting where he lives and the offer of a multi-million dollar sneaker contract), than the press begins to turn against him, emphasizing his spotty shooting record and under-6' height. The suspense then shifts: Will he be drafted by the NBA or will he wind up like his talented, older brother, passed over after a stellar college season, and now playing professional ball in Greece?

Helmer Hock, whose credits include the ESPN skein "Streetball" and the Imax "Michael Jordan to the Max," sticks like glue to Telfair. Sebastian's coach and brothers provide running commentary on his career while lenser Alistair Christopher's HD camera trains on Telfair as he ducks, bobs, weaves, passes and dunks his way through crucial, nail-biting championship games and attempts to prove his worth as a team player.

Extensive media coverage of developments in the unfolding saga neatly colors pic's exposition. But more than anything else, Hock's job is expedited by Telfair himself -- the kid's clean-cut looks and million-dollar smile clearly as relevant as his athletic prowess in winning him his lucrative sneaker contract, his front-page spread in "Sports Illustrated" and even his effortless domination of the screen.

Having had years to fully accept his talents and assume responsibility for parlaying his gifts into a better future for his family, Telfair appears serenely conscious of all the forces at play. Extremely media savvy (his cousin is Knicks star Stephon Marbury), Telfair seems capable of taking the hoopla in stride.

Given his subject's supreme self-confidence, Hock's up-close-and-personal approach is relentlessly forward-driven and leaves no room for questioning anything beyond the unfair arbitrariness of a fickle system that rewards one brother with millions and another with exile to Greece.

Tech credits are polished.

Nov. 14, 2005

Through the Fire

By Michael Rechtshaffen

The ill-fitting generic title aside, "Through the Fire" is a highly satisfying documentary tracking the hoop dreams of basketball bright light Sebastian Telfair as he made that rare leap from high school all-star to NBA draft pick.

In possession of a killer smile, the charismatic pride of Coney Island, N.Y., makes for an ideal central subject, and co-directors Jonathan Hock and Alistair Christopher work in a no-frills, straight-ahead style that lets Telfair's involving story speak for itself.

It's one that includes the 6-foot point guard's older half-brother, Jamel Thomas, who had been passed over by the NBA years earlier and plays basketball in Greece to help support the large family, while another brother is content to remain in the background as an assistant coach at Telfair's Brooklyn high school.

Accompanied by some terrific game footage, the film, shot on digital video, is there beside Telfair when he lands the Sports Illustrated cover and signs an Adidas sneaker deal. The cameras also capture numerous intimate, quietly emotional moments, most movingly when he finds out he's been drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers amid the publication of numerous newspaper articles that weren't exactly enthusiastic about his chances.

Bottom line: "Through the Fire" is a highly satisfying documentary.

Copyright 2005 The Hollywood Reporter

Village Voice (2/8/06)

Tracking Shots

'Through the Fire'

by R. Emmet Sweeney

February 7th, 2006

A riveting doc of hoop dreams realized, Through the Fire follows Coney Island legend (and current Portland Trail Blazer) Sebastian Telfair through his final high school season, focusing on his decision to skip college and go pro. An ESPN production (scheduled to air on March 12), it's slickly shot and structured like a Bruckheimer sports weepie, but director Jonathan Hock also shows the image-production of Telfair as star. Living in the projects, Telfair sees his cousin Stephon Marbury hit it rich in the NBA, while his brother Jamel Thomas, a starter at Providence, is left undrafted and has to join a European league to pay the bills. Jamel takes every precaution to ensure Sebastian's success on and off the court, coaching him to convey a "Tiger Woods" image, clean and smiling. Media and player are mutually manipulated—Telfair puts up a front, Sports Illustrated gets its cover boy, and the sneaker contract gets signed. Various other mentors want a piece: his vociferous coach Tiny, Louisville coach Rick Pitino, Adidas execs, his oldest brother Daniel—even Jay-Z shows him some love. Despite all the distractions, Sebastian remains committed to basketball, as the reams of eye-popping game footage attest. The kid's got a sick hesitation move. Jumper's still spotty, though.

A Dream Come True

by Warren Curry

I first caught the documentary "Through the Fire" at the AFI Film Festival last November, and I spent the remainder of 2005 telling anyone who'd listen that it was the best film I'd seen that year. With its forthcoming theatrical release (it will also air on ESPN in March), only time will tell if it will be my favorite film of 2006, although I can't imagine I will encounter many better. Spirited and utterly absorbing, "Through the Fire" chronicles the year that changed the life of New York City high school basketball superstar Sebastian Telfair (and residually, those close to him). Even viewers without a passion for basketball, or sports in general, will connect with this accessible, exciting, rags-to-riches story.

Making headlines since the age of nine, 5'-10" point guard Sebastian Telfair entered his senior year of high school in 2003 already a bona fide New York City basketball legend. Attempting to lead Brooklyn's Lincoln High School to an unprecedented third straight city championship, Telfair is the focal point of a media blitz as the season begins, which only intensifies over time. Injected with a ferocious competitive spirit, Telfair's broader goals include attending the University of Louisville to play for renowned coach Rick Pitino, eventually landing in the NBA and lifting his family out of their impoverished lives in Coney Island.

As Telfair, the cousin of NBA star Stephon Marbury, pushes his team toward another city title, his outstanding play invites a whole new level of fanfare and scrutiny. ESPN televises his games to a national audience, and celebrities such as Jay-Z, Spike Lee and New York Yankees' all-star Derek Jeter, not to mention a host of NBA scouts, are regular fixtures in the stands. Telfair's appearance on magazine covers is next, and soon it appears a jump straight to the NBA, complete with a multi-million dollar sneaker endorsement deal, is well within his reach. Of course, when it appears his stock has risen to its highest point, a wave of critical backlash predictably crashes in from the so-called basketball experts.

What keeps Telfair's head from floating into the clouds are memories of his family's collective heartbreak when his older brother Jamel Thomas was shockingly snubbed by the NBA after a standout a college career. Coney Island, like many American inner city areas, offers its residents very few dreams, and when those dreams are shattered, it can exact a crushing toll. The documentary's most sobering moment is provided by Asher Beard (aka Tick Tick Boom), a former Coney Island teen hoops sensation who didn't make it to the next level, when he comments while sitting in a neighborhood playground, "As long as I'm here, it's pain." It becomes apparent in short order that Telfair is carrying the hopes of his family and community on his shoulders, and only the strongest individuals will refuse to buckle under the weight. Sebastian Telfair is that individual, and it's impossible not to admire his determination.

NBA fans will know going in that the story has a happy ending, as Telfair is currently a starting point guard for the Portland Trailblazers. But this does nothing to diminish the stakes of the drama, or its ultimate payoff. Director Jonathan Hock gives the film a relentless momentum, creating a palpable sense of excitement at every turn. Telfair has charisma to spare, and with the guidance of Jamel, who supports his family while playing professional basketball in Greece, and his other older brother Daniel Turner (who also serves as Lincoln's volunteer assistant basketball coach), appears to have been groomed from an early age to deal with the onslaught of attention. He's brash, confident and exudes the fiery (and occasionally mean) competitive attitude required to achieve athletic greatness.

"Through the Fire" will inevitably draw comparisons to the fantastic 1994 documentary "Hoop Dreams." It, more or less, picks up where "Hoop Dreams" left off, narrowing its sights on a person making the difficult jump from amateur phenomenon to professional success. While it's much smaller in scope and offers less social commentary than "Hoop Dreams," "Through the Fire," to borrow a sports' cliché, plays within itself exceptionally well. The eventual denouement -- even though most viewers know the outcome -- still manages to be completely satisfying.

"Through the Fire" is the kind of crowd-pleasing (but not necessarily "feel good") entertainment that warrants mass audience applause at its conclusion, and the rare documentary I feel confident highly recommending to anyone and everyone.

Warren Curry/reviewed: 2006-02-09

For February 10 - 16, 2006

THROUGH THE FIRE Jonathan Hock's entertaining documentary about a year in the life of high school sports phenom Sebastian Telfair is a Horatio Alger tale for the bling and basketball age. Though some will see this fast-paced film as proof that hoop dreams really can come true, the real strength of Through the Fire lies in its careful, often indirect questioning of the moral universe of professional sports and big-money endorsements. Exiled to Greece, where he plays bush-league basketball to support his family, Telfair's older brother (and former NBA prospect) Jamel Thomas lives in the shadows of dreams deferred, and his scenes give the story dramatic, almost mythic weight. This ESPN Films release may not have the patience, scope or nuance of the seminal 1994 basketball documentary Hoop Dreams (which holds up as the cinematic equivalent of a Theodore Dreiser novel), but Through the Fire shares its spirit, even if the film's deeper views on its subjects — and society — are seen only in flashes. (James C. Taylor)

the leading source on independent film since 1996

Winning Night: "Rize" and "Through the Fire"

[Tribeca daily dispatch by Eugene Hernandez.]

Seeing a good movie really can make for a fun evening. In the case of the Tribeca Film Festival last night, two heartwarming documentaries made for a great night downtown. David LaChappelle's "Rize", which I watched twice back at Sundance, is a terrific film about the emergence of a fast-paced form of dancing in South Central Los Angeles, the people that LaChapelle follows include local celebrity Tommy the Clown, leader of a group of kids turning to clown and krump dancing as a way to express themselves. So, the real discovery for me last night was Sebastian Telfair, showcased in "Through The Fire", Jonathan Hock's loving look at the basketball player's senior of high school as he struggles with the decision to either go to college or try to break into the NBA.

Cheers and a standing ovation greeted the film at its special screening last night, with many of Telfair's friends and family from Coney Island in attendance. Telfair, a savvy young kid with a winning smile and a warm family, shines in this sharply shot and assembled doc. While the movie probably should have dug deeper into the complex dynamics of the Telfair family and the cut-throat, seductive world of high school athletics, its hard to fault a film packed with so much warmth. Telfair, the cousin of Knicks star Stephon Marbury, faces a tough decision as a middle child among a family of basketball brothers and at the end of the film, audiences may debate whether he made the right choice, but no doubt they understand his reasons and applaud his success.

Comparisons to the more complex and in-depth "Hoop Dreams" are inevitable but not really justified. "It is about rebirth and community, just like this festival," enthused Hock on-stage during yesterday's Tribeca Film Festival press conference. "Like this neighborhood, the Telfair family did not have things always break their way," but he added, "They did not lose sight of their dreams."

Buyers were buzzing after Thursday's screening, with some execs planning to show the picture to higher-ups at various companies. Another showing is on tap tomorrow in Tribeca. Cinetic Media is selling the film and it will undoubtedly find a distributor.

AFI Fest day 10 - the final stretch...

Day 10 I attended the TIMESTALKS 2 - The War Documentary: A Panel Discussion... I left the panel a little early to jump into Through the Fire. Let me start by saying that I only know a couple things about basketball:
1. Los Angeles has 2 basketball teams.
2. You have to put the ball through the hoop to score.

Other than that I'm pretty clueless. Through the Fire follows Sebastian Telfair through his senior year of high school basketball. It doesn't take long to figure out that this film is gonna be good. About 20 minutes in I looked at watch and noted in my notebook, "I'm invested." That says a lot! For someone who couldn't care less about basketball to want all the hopes and dreams of a Coney Island high school baskeball player to come true. Sebastian Telfair is charismatic, he loves his mom and for a 5 foot 10 inch player he kicks ass on the court.

I loved this movie. It has suspense, great music and editing, it shows passion and confidence, fleshed out real characters and as I sit here while the festival awards ceremony is taking place I predict it will win an award or two.

Emmy award winning filmmaker Jonathan Hock has done a tremendous job illustrating the exuberance of an athlete born to play basketball. I even found myself searching my TiVo today to see if I could find Telfair playing any games coming up. And…that speaks tomes for someone who has never watched a televised basketball in her life. - Sarah Jo Marks

Upscale Magazine
November 2005 Film Reviews
By Dwight Brown


Through The Fire (***1/2)
Hock Films

College or basketball? On the surface you'd want your children to get a higher education. But these days, hitting the books and not the court isn't an easy decision.

Sebastian Telfair, star player on Lincoln High School's championship basketball team, stands at a life-altering crossroads. He's a senior being scouted by the pros. As the cousin of Knicks' hoopster Stephon Marbury, he's tasted the good life. As the younger brother of Jamel, a thirtysomething minor-league player who was once courted by the NBA but never drafted, he knows defeat too. What do you do when you've got eight brothers and sisters, a single mom and people being shot outside of your housing project? College or courts?

Emmy Award winning director Jonathan Hock's camera is invisible. You read Sebastian's mind. Share his fears. Dream with him. His home life is an open book. His mother's nurturing spirit is comforting. Jamel handles surrogate father duties like a saint; when Sebastian is oh-so-close to being drafted but faltering, Jamel gives him basketball boot camp training and a tough love that turns the anxious boy into a man.

A riveting film. You'll be pinned to the edge of your seat. You'll want Sebastian to make the right choice. Will he? Bring your hoop dreams. Bring a hanky too.

THE GOOD:

I'm no sports fan. I find no interest in sports, and I really don't watch it, but "Through the Fire" is not about sports. You don't have to like sports to know how damn good this is. It's typical to say such a thing, but as a man who hasn't seen a full basketball game in eleven years, it says something about the sheer quality and excellence of "Through the Fire", that it was able to grab a hold of me and keep me glued to the screen. It's not an insider documentary, it's not a new look at sports, and it is not an exploitative peek at a man who ruined himself. It's simply a down to Earth story about a young man who worked for his dreams and achieved them.

"Through the Fire" is a wonderful, and exciting look in to a year in Sebastian Telfair's life and struggle to make the NBA draft. Through this journey we discover not only him, but we also discover his family. His loyal mother, immensely loyal brothers, and just pure family love. These are brothers whom stick by one another and pour all their energy in to Sebastian to help him make the NBA draft. "Through the Fire" is an excellent inspirational documentary about how anyone can really rise above their surroundings if they work hard enough. Why Sebastian Telfair? Well, why not? He's a legend in his home town (grew up in the same city as I), he's smart, he's charismatic, he's humble even when literally everyone is pulling him aside saying it's all about him, and he's focused. Not to mention he has amazing skills on the basketball court.

The film, beautifully directed by Jonathan Hock, has an exuberance and energy about it that will take even those not fans of sports and bring them in to the story. Speaking as someone who qualifies as a non-fan, even I was engrossed in the basketball scenes. Telfair is utterly amazing on the court, and everyone around him is drawn in to him and he repays them for it. Celebrities appear at the games he plays in, and reel in their seats, nearly jumping in utter awe at his moves. And the director plays off of their reaction using the soundtrack and great camera shots to his advantage. He involves the crowd in to the scene of this young man and lets us connect with him. His brothers, one a basketball coach, one a basketball player who didn't make the draft but went on to basketball in Greece yet poured his energy in to Sebastian, and, in a heart wrenching sub-plot, Sebastian's youngest brother who worships the ground he walks on and hopes to become like him in the future. And Hock doesn't just hog all the spotlight on Telfair.

Any hack would have focused on Sebastian and only Sebastian, but Hock explores his family, and the film never loses its charm, or appeal when it explores their lives. The question raised from beginning to end is can this guy who is intelligent, charming, charismatic, and talented keep the NBA from corrupting him and turning him in to another sports prima donna? You're on constant edge wondering this, and you have no choice but to sit, watch, and wait to see if he excels, or becomes his own worst enemy. It also explores how one can set a path for themselves and by circumstances, or ones own zeal, can lose their focus and end up losing it all in an instant.

Constantly, Hock introduces corporate elements as a factor that could spell doom for Telfair's training and personality. Sneaker companies, clothing companies, franchises all seek him out, and its his family element that must decide to keep his mind on the game or else it will all be in vain. Telfair looks like a great guy, he's not full of himself but is never afraid to gloat, he's humble, but he's also proud, and Hock knows how to pinpoint this young man's niche. But we also know he can be exploited, too, and we hope he doesn't. And when it wants to be "Through the Fire" is also an exciting look at how the game is played, but through it all you wonder of Telfair's fate, because Hock brings you close, and reminds us its not the rewards that matter, it's the journey.

SUMMING UP:
"Through the Fire" is a film for anyone seeking hope and inspiration in their endeavors, and its an excellent documentary in the spirit of "Hoop Dreams" with an engrossing and exciting look at working for your goals and accomplishing them win or lose.

MOVIE NOTES:
Telfair is the cousin of NBA star Stephon Marbury.

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

THROUGH THE FIRE (Unrated)

MOVIE BIASES: I've seen his game; it's time for the story behind the name.

MAJOR PLAYERS: Sebastian Telfair, producer/co-director Jonathan Hock (TV's "Streetball: The And 1 Mixtape Tour")

If you're a sports fan like I am, you're familiar with Sebastian Telfair. Appearing on magazine covers as a ninth grader – yes, NINTH GRADER – Telfair has spent the majority of his life in the spotlight. Unlike most coddled, pampered-since-pre-adolescence high school athletic superstars, Sebastian's story is as dramatic, engaging, and funny as anything scripted I've seen all year.

"It's like he's got a cult following. He's got a smile, he's marketable." That he is indeed. Picking up from the beginning of Sebastian's senior year, one in which the high school and pro basketball worlds hover with interest, "Through the Fire" follows the ups and downs of this personally tumultuous year. Sure, there are harder things in life than to be an extraterrestrially gifted basketball player, but in Sebastian Telfair's world, (as the saying goes) with "great power comes great responsibility." Embarking upon the goal of taking his Coney Island Lincoln High School team to an unprecedented third straight New York Public School Athletic League championship, Sebastian is beset by the problems of his own low-income, basketball-obsessed neighborhood, the expectations of his family and friends, the temptation to skip college (after signing with University of Louisville) and go pro, and the media scrutiny that comes with stardom of any ilk – always ready to tear down the pedestal for which they had built him. Underlying it all is the antagonist of Failure, a Grim Reaper who had struck his older brother Jamel Thomas by having dashed his NBA hopes when he went undrafted on Draft Night, lurking in the forefront of Sebastian's mind to do the same to him.

"Through the Fire," a case study on society's misplaced values of sports, celebrity, material wealth, and capitalism, is a film that's hard not to like. Hock, and his ubiquitous cinematographer Alastair Christopher (TV's "Streetball"), seemingly blanket Sebastian everywhere, capturing the true big business that has molested the fictitious sanctity of "amateur" high school sports. Hock and Christopher follow Sebastian from practice to personal appearances, eavesdrop on legal tightroping discussions between Sebastian and shoe company executives, and go on the road with Sebastian's high school team, which is also awash in Telfair's t-shirt-making, sweaty sock-autographing, demographically universal cult of celebrity. No doubt able to afford clearances for such Roc-a-Fella music as Jay-Z's "Moment of Clarity" (GREAT opening music and sequence for the movie) due to the mutual fandom between the rapper and the teenage basketball star, "Fire" uses only the best of urban hip hop around the time of the movie's filming, the 2003-2004 basketball season. While most of the footage is high definition handheld, the camerawork is extremely steady and informative, never distracting.

With a cast of characters so real, who needs fiction? If it isn't the unapologetic materialism of Telfair's brother/assistant coach Daniel Turner, then it's the equally unapologetic bravado of baby-faced head coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton entertaining you. Jamel Thomas provides stern, loving leadership over his brother's career from afar, whether its spiriting Sebastian off to Greece where he plays pro ball to help him train or vetoing Sebastian's desire for tattoos as bad for his image ("Clean, happy, smilin' all the time, nice teeth…That's him.")

And that IS him. Fairly egoless for a basketball phenom (despite being the all time New York State scoring leader, in the McDonald's All-American game, the point guard tries to set an ASSISTS record), Sebastian Telfair, with his great, ridiculous smile, clean-shaven, boyish good looks, and true leadership spirit, is a wildly charismatic persona that the camera simply adores. It's a two-way love affair: Who knew Telfair was so damn funny (on a trip to the Oklahoma State Capitol, in session, he remarks, "I'm not used to being around people with jobs")? When not playing natural comedian, he takes on the personal challenges of leadership and accountability very seriously, willing his team on to victory on several occasions. Knowing full well that "Everybody starts, nobody finishes when it comes to basketball" in hoops-crazed Coney Island, Sebastian takes the business of basketball very seriously, as he puts the wooing shoe companies through their paces while evaluating the difficult decision to go to college or turn pro. To you or me, that's not much of a decision – Telfair will eventually make it to the NBA, right? Well tell that to his brother Jamel, who did the so-called right thing and went to college for four years, even leading the Big East Conference in scoring at Providence College, yet ended up undrafted and forced to earn his roundball living overseas.

Although several similarly compelling stories war for attention in this movie, at heart, it's a story about two brothers, brothers in blood, brothers in talent, brothers in dreams. The interaction between the two of them, despite the younger one being the most talented, is protective, touching, and a tad businesslike. As if it were his own career in the balance, Jamel's fierce protection of Sebastian's image, exposure, mentality, and leadership is one of the more quietly moving relationships I've seen onscreen all year. In fact, the way the whole family and community rallies around Sebastian, not merely as one of their own who can make it, but also as a guy that they genuinely LIKE, goes a long way toward exploding stereotypes of hood behavior.

On the flip side, innocuously if not inadvertently, "Through the Fire" is an indictment on the failure of opportunity in capitalism. When a Coney Island native (truthfully) attests that "There would be nothing out here" without basketball, an activity that keeps kids in the community occupied and safe, what does that say about socioeconomic opportunities – and expectations – of young black men? Should the sportswear company wooing process be allowed to begin so early, with shoe companies sending dozens of boxes of product to Sebastian's home? Even though going to college and getting an education is encouraged, can you blame Sebastian for beginning to second-guess his decision when a shooting happens in his projects building? Is it worth it to keep his family in relative squalor while his precious gift could be taken away at any moment or, worse, go unrewarded like his brother's? And why is it that money and the prospect of having money, should bring out the most ghetto fabulous reactions out of people who've never had any? With Jazy-Z, Derek Jeter, and Spike Lee sitting courtside at his HIGH SCHOOL games, who and what defines celebrity? Why is it that old, white men in the South can embrace a young black man like Sebastian on the basketball court but most likely wouldn't want him marrying his daughter off of it?

In order to answer all of these latent – and blatant – questions, that would, of course, require a whole other movie. By wisely choosing to hone in on Sebastian's dream of going pro, the filmmakers have crafted an experience of surprising resonance and emotion that had my screening partner– yep – CRYING at the end of this documentary. Primed to pick up the critically lauded baton from "Hoop Dreams," "Through the Fire" is a complete movie, a cinematic happening that has left me buzzing ever since I've seen it. And it's all because of the indomitable personality, humor, and charisma of a Coney Island kid with the megawatt smile.

With a family full of personalities, including tangential links to his decade older cousin, New York Knicks player cousin Stephon Marbury, it's no surprise that the Telfair family mantra, Rod Tidwell-like ("Show me the moneyyyyy!"), is "The lights are ON!" The lights ARE on. Thanks to Sebastian and the Hock Films crew for allowing us to revel in its, and HIS, glare.

@@@@ REELS

(FOUR REELS)

An urban legend/instant classic.

© 2005, Edwardo Jackson