Three brothers. Three paths. The sport that ties them all together. Could this be the next great American documentary?
On Saturday, April 9, DirecTV debuted the feature-length version of director Jordan Haro’s documentary, "Rush Brothers" on its Audience Network. The documentary was the winner of DirecTV and Tongal’s “The Next Great American Documentary” contest, in which filmmakers all over the U.S. had the opportunity to propose their untold stories.
“Rush Brothers” follows the lives of three brothers from Kansas City: JaRon, a high school basketball prodigy who fell from the limelight after a national scandal within the AAU; Kareem, a retired NBA journeyman now working to build a training academy; and Brandon, a member of the Golden State Warrior’s 2015 NBA Championship run. And with Brandon and the Warriors set to make another title run, the documentary couldn’t be timelier.
“Rush Brothers” was born more than a year ago, when Haro submitted the idea to Tongal’s platform for developing premium creative content during DirecTV’s call for submissions. After sourcing concepts and pitches through Tongal, DirecTV selected Haro’s piece for its poignant look at the three very different outcomes for the basketball siblings. So how does a story like this – of three high profile athletes with a complicated but profound connection to their community and the sport of basketball – come to fruition before a national audience, and could this have an impact on the way studios and networks develop content and even the long-form filmmaking?
The ability to tap into authentic communities and insights, to source creative work directly from those who are most passionate about any given topic, is making its mark on all forms of content. Both entertainment networks and brands have an enormous opportunity to capitalize on this new capability.
DirecTV is doing just that, inviting a new breed of filmmakers to collaborate with audiences to create the type of content they want to see. The idea for “Rush Brothers” wasn’t developed in an executive boardroom, but came forth organically from an independent filmmaker and his community of creative peers who shared a passion for telling this story. The result is a poignant film that tells a heartbreaking, often surprising, and previously untold story.
In a world full of often stale “filler” content and programming, brands like DirectTV are increasingly taking innovative approaches to concepting and developing fresh content with input and ideas from the very audiences they’re seeking to reach. Tongal provides both the platform to curate audience ideas and inspiration, and a 100,000 strong community of experienced storytellers & filmmakers that can bring stories to life across any channel.
In a Cynopsis digital exclusive, Chris Long, SVP of Original Content and Production for DirecTV parent AT&T, said: “As quality filmmaking technology becomes increasingly accessible and affordable, filmmakers of all levels and from all walks of life have the means and opportunity to tell their stories. Tongal’s innovative business model provides the perfect avenue for us to find quality, independent intellectual property which we may not have otherwise discovered.”
After its debut on the Audience Network on April 9, “Rush Brothers” will be available on-demand and on other channels; in the mean time, you can view the sizzle reel here.
