UCLA grad Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King) ran track in college. At the center of her first feature, developed at the Sundance Institute’s directing and writing lab and produced by Spike Lee, she put two L.A. athletes who are childhood sweethearts into romantic conflict, earning her the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Next-door neighbors as kids, Quincy (Omar Epps) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan) fall in love as teens and find that they share an all-consuming interest in basketball. Their individual abilities in the sport take them down separate career paths in high school and college, and the couple must struggle to keep their relationship alive as they pursue success as professional athletes.

Reviews

"Gina Prince-Bythewood has taken the conventional coming-of-age romance genre and invigorated it with such vivid characters and such alertness to the culture she's representing, that she makes what might have been derivative into something brand new." – Baltimore Sun

"There’s no doubt that Prince-Bythewood is a gifted director: The film is so suave, graceful and technically accomplished that it’s hard to believe it’s a first-effort feature. Impressive production values, from lensing to costumes to musical score, all contribute to a glossy package." – Variety