Greek ‘Hoop Dreams’ Follows Undocumented Daughters of African Migrants Shooting for Basketball Stardom

Born in Athens to West African parents, two teenage girls with their hopes set on basketball stardom are the subjects of “Home Court,” a documentary from directors Elpida Nikou and Rodrigo Hernandez that’s taking part in the Docs in Progress section of the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival’s Agora industry strand.

Shot over the course of four years, the film follows Miriam and Gloria, the stars of a junior women’s basketball team made up entirely of second-generation Greeks, mostly the children of African migrants. Standouts on the court because of their exceptional talents, the duo must nevertheless overcome prejudice, economic hardships and even greater obstacles from a country that refuses to recognize them as citizens.

“Home Court” (working title) is the directors’ second documentary feature together, following the Intl. Emmy Award-nominated “Serigne.” It’s produced by Nikou and Hernandez for Zungu/SGv and Rea Apostolides and Yuri Averof for Greece’s Anemon Productions. It is co-produced with Kellen Quinn’s U.S.-based Hedgehog Films, Esther van Driesum and Maaike Neve of the Netherlands’ Bind and Victor Ede of French production company Cinephage. 

The film is also supported by the Greek Film Center, ERT Cinema Fund, NL Film Fonds, Region Sud and Creative Europe. The project won the pitching forum award at Thessaloniki’s Agora in 2021.

“Home Court” begins in Sepolia, a gritty neighborhood in central Athens whose most famous native son — NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo — has inspired a generation of immigrant children to pursue their own hoop dreams. Miriam and Gloria are rising stars on the Antaios basketball team, hoping to follow in the “Greek Freak’s” footsteps to achieve international basketball stardom.

While initially focusing on the story of a basketball club comprised entirely of the children of migrants, the directors were captivated when they met the two scrappy ballers, then 15 years old. “We understood at some point that the story of these two girls is quite amazing, because they came from a very difficult background, and they have a real chance to become professional players,” said Hernandez. “They don’t have support from their families,” added Nikou. “The government, it is the contrary — they put all these difficulties [in their path]. The economy, the neighborhood. Everything is against them, but they only have one another.” 

The girls are a study in contrasts. Hot-headed and assertive, Miriam is one of five children of a Nigerian man who’s just been released from jail. Gloria, her shy and soft-spoken best friend, lives with her Ghanaian father in a modest apartment, rarely speaking to a mother who moved to Germany years ago.

“Home Court” follows the pair over four pivotal years, starting with their early days in basketball and following their rise to the ranks of Greece’s first division. As their playing careers take off, they dream of making it to the upper echelons of European basketball, or earning scholarships to study and play college basketball in the U.S. Their hopes, however, are stymied by their status as undocumented immigrants without any form of legal recognition from their country. 

“They have all these challenges as kids without resources, without papers,” said Hernandez. “They are not Greeks, they are not Europeans, they are not Africans [in the eyes of the law].” The girls are forced to contend with institutionalized sexism as well, fighting an uphill battle against a system that seems determined to block their advancement at every turn. 

(Antetokounmpo — the son of Nigerian immigrants, and arguably the most famous Greek alive today — was only granted Greek citizenship on the eve of the NBA draft, in part over fears that he might eventually play competitive international basketball for Nigeria.)

Beyond the legal and political challenges, however, Miriam and Gloria are above all teenage girls struggling with “all the problems of youth,” said Hernandez. “Home Court” is a coming-of-age story about two girls from broken homes finding their way in a society that refuses to recognize or accept them, or to see in them what the two friends see in themselves.

“They have all this energy, and they are full of life,” said Nikou. “And they rely on each other to succeed.”

The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival runs from March 6 – 16.