Rob Munday
While a narrative about a coach abusing one his players doesn’t sound like a particularly original storyline, in film or real-life, Hannah Peterson uses the premise to build a novel film where friendship and camaraderie feature alongside all the pain and trauma caused by the incident. In Sundance short Champ, Peterson builds on the intimate slice-of-life approach seen in her earlier piece East of the River and delivers another film that confirms her biggest strength – character-driven storytelling.
Thrusting its viewers immediately into the group dynamics of this team of young, female basketball players, as you pick up on the tight knit vibe emanating from them, you’d be forgiven for expecting the film to head in a more humorous direction. As the girls play a basketball video game, trading insults as their online teams trade hoops, their banter and the back-and-forth snap of their dialogue puts its audience totally at ease, revelling in getting to spend time with this joyous quartet. However, as Genevieve casually drops the news that their coach snuck into her hotel room at night, that lo-fi hangout vibe quickly evaporates.
Eva Noblezada puts in a captivating performance as Genevieve
It doesn’t disappear totally though, even during the film’s darkest moments it’s still present in the background and Peterson should be commended for finding the perfect equilibrium between this care-free attitude of youth and the harsh realisation that life (and your fellow humans) can really treat you like sh*t. For me, this is where Champ truly excels. You feel the injustice and the frustration surrounding this total abuse of power as strongly as in any “heavier” drama, but as the film concludes (with that exceptional long take of Genevieve processing her emotions) it delivers its message with such a light touch, that as you struggle to collect your thoughts and organise the raft of emotions it leaves you with, only then do you start to realise what an exceptional piece of filmmaking it is.
“It was a space where I felt ownership of my body and learned to fiercely defend it”
With such a genuine feel to the chemistry between the players on the team, its comes as no real surprise to learn that Peterson tapped into personal experiences when making Champ. “As a former basketball player, I am excited to tell a narrative through the language of sports” the director explains as we discuss her aims for her short. “For me, it was a space where I felt ownership of my body and learned to fiercely defend it. It was also a space where I felt comfortable to assert myself in ways that I did not feel comfortable doing outside the court. I’ve spoken to several young women who have experienced the kind of behavior of the coach in this script on away games, and it is important to me to tell a nuanced story of the type of experience girls often silently endure when coming of age in a space meant to empower them”.
Shot during the pandemic, with a cast completed by real players from the LA youth basketball community (the quartet largely on-screen throughout Champ all put in captivating performances) Peterson’s short premiered at Sundance 2022, before heading online. With two impressive shorts to her name, it comes as no surprise to learn that the director has recently completed her debut feature The Graduates and is now working on adapting Daniel Hornsby’s novel Via Negativa for screen.