Past Event: Moonlight & Movies | Love & Basketball: Live Q & A

This conversation was recorded on Wednesday, September 9,2020. See the full event description below.

We hope you enjoy this recording. Please consider a donation to the Museum – of any amount – to support public programs at the Museum and help us continue our role as New York’s storyteller.

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Celebrate the end of summer with a virtual conversation inspired by the now-classic film Love & Basketball (2000), one of the few portraits of a pro woman basketball player ever to hit the big screen. The film's director and writer Gina Prince-Bythewood will join former NCAA and WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw and Harlem native, playground powerhouse, player and coach/mentor Priscilla Edwards for a lively discussion about the film -- and how women in pro basketball (and beyond) navigate issues of power, representation, activism, and equity. Author and sports journalist William Rhoden moderates. 

About the film: Love & Basketball (2000, 124 min.) follows high-school sweethearts Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps), two talented players who have been competing since their elementary school days in Los Angeles' Baldwin Hills neighborhood -- as they navigate college and pro careers, and experience the power of the sport of their lives, both on and off the court. 

In advance of the conversation, we invite you to rent or purchase the film through Amazon here.

Please check out our in person screening of Love & Basketball outside on the Museum's Terrace on Wednesday, September 16 at 7:30 pm. You can find out more information and purchase tickets here. 

Logistics:
Watch the film:
Please note that, due to licensing restrictions, registration does not include a link to the film. Instead, registrants are invited to rent or purchase the film; check out streaming options here.

Join the talk: Wednesday, September 9 at 7:00 pm ET
Registrants will receive a Zoom link for this conversation through the MCNY ticketing confirmation email, as well as through a direct email in advance of the event.

About the Speakers:
Priscilla Edwards was raised in Harlem and started her playing career with the Douglas Panthers AAU program. Known as "Snake" for her slithery moves on the court, Edwards earned a full scholarship to attend St. Bonaventure University where she enjoyed a successful college career. With injuries cutting her post-college career short, she joined the college coaching ranks upon graduation. Edwards is in her fifth season at Providence College as Associate Head Coach of the women’s basketball program and her 11th season at the Division 1 level. Edwards has also made collegiate coaching stops at fellow BIG EAST power St. John's University as well as her alma mater St. Bonaventure University. In 2015, Edwards founded PE Basketball Skill Training and Development, and has worked with the NBA youth initiative, Jr. NBA. In 2019 Edwards opened The Glow Cafe & Juice Bar in Providence, RI.

Chamique Holdsclaw, born and raised in Queens, NY, is a women’s basketball icon; a three time national champion at the University of Tennessee, 6 time WNBA All-Star, and Olympic Gold medal winner in the 2000 Sydney games. Holdsclaw is a mental health advocate and actively supports initiatives that optimize the mind, body, and spirit of individuals through mental health and wellness-focused programming.  Her life and career is the subject of the award-winning 2015 documentary film MIND/GAME: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw.

Award-winning director/writer/producer Gina Prince-Bythewood is one of the most versatile storytellers working in film and television.  Known for her authentic character-driven work, Prince-Bythewood has directed and written such influential feature films as Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond The Lights.  Most recently Prince-Bythewood directed the action drama feature, The Old Guard. Since its July 10 release, the Netflix film is among their Top 10 most popular films of all time with Prince-Bythewood becoming the first Black female director on the list.   Other recent credits include the special event series, “Shots Fired,” which she and her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood served as Series Creators and Executive Producers.   An advocate for equal representation in film, Prince-Bythewood funds a scholarship for African American students in the film program at UCLA, her alma mater.

William C. Rhoden (moderator) is a former journalist for The New York Times. Before joining the Times as a staff sports columnist in 1983, Rhoden worked at publications including the Baltimore Sun and Ebony.  His first book, Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete was published in 2006 and his second book, Third and a Mile: The Trials and Triumph of the Black Quarterback was published in 2007. Rhoden was a special consultant for the Museum's current exhibition, City/Game: Basketball in New York, and co-editor of its accompanying book. 

This program accompanies the Museum's exhibition City/Game: Basketball in New York. To view all of our Moonlight & Movies screenings click here.

View a trailer of the film here:

Please contact programs@mcny.org with questions.