Elevate

Although it doesn't feature the kind of epic dramatic arc that would make for a Senegalese Hoop Dreams, director Anne Buford's Elevate spotlights a neglected corner of Africa and the world, chronicling the aspirations of a pool of young and talented basketball players. In the desperately poor capital of Dakar, Senegal's best teenage hoopsters gather at SEEDS, a boarding school for athletes. Players' hopes for a prosperous future rest in getting a U.S. visa and taking what could be the first step to an NBA career: admission to play at a top U.S. prep school. The documentary follows four Senegalese players to America, including Aziz and Assante, seven-foot-tall 16-year-olds and two of the top prospects in all of Africa. While not much attention is paid to the crucial educational and socioeconomic challenges for these kids, Elevate does illustrate how quickly the American basketball dream becomes a hard reality for these hopefuls, as they suffer from the sobering effects of homesickness, culture shock, and language barriers. But more importantly Aziz, Assante, and their fellow countrymen soon learn a lot about the American “bottom line” business mentality that pervades athletics in America—even at the high school level. Although the film focuses on the small fraction of Senegalese kids who go on to college success in the U.S., the sad reality is that so many more are left behind to cope in a country where the average family makes around $1,000 a year. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin)