*A documentary about Brittney Griner’s Russian captivity debuted at Sundance this week and positions the WNBA star’s ordeal against unfolding domestic immigration enforcement.
Griner endured close to ten months confined in Russian detention centers after authorities arrested her on minor drug violations. Her imprisonment included time in a harsh penal colony until American officials negotiated her release. The basketball star now sees disturbing similarities between what she experienced abroad and ICE activities sweeping through American communities.
“I hope this film can shed some light into what it could be like if we keep letting this happen,” Griner tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Right now, we’re in a very bad place, especially with everything that’s going on in Minnesota and just across our country. I definitely think people will understand a little bit more now and be able to see some comparisons.”
Directed by Alexandria Stapleton, “The Brittney Griner Story” explores Griner’s childhood, her bond with spouse Cherelle, her years playing with the WNBA, and professionally overseas. Stapleton, whose credits include Netflix’s “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” wanted “to give context to a story that was very two-dimensionalized in the media.”
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The filmmaker characterizes the project as “a cautionary tale,” expressing hope it will “knock some sense into people” while illustrating how public mobilization influences government decisions.
“I hope people get the sense of, ‘when we come together we can stop what’s going on,'” she says. “We can change what’s going on right now in our country,” Griner said.
Stapleton hopes viewers “watch this story and see it as a cautionary tale, almost knock some sense into people. Hopefully, this can be a film that can make a change.”
“The Brittney Griner Story” is set to air on ESPN later this year.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Brittney Griner Recounts Russian Prison Guards’ Attempt to Place Her in Men’s Cell
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