'Dark Winds' actress Jessica Matten: 'Rez Ball' film amplifies Native voices

NEW YORK, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Jessica Matten says that by bringing together artists from Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds, her new sports film, Rez Ball, spotlights a talented, growing community of Indigenous storytellers.

"It's a testament to our Native community of film and TV actors, which is still, I would say, definitely small, but growing and I think this film is actually going to amplify that and just encourage even more young Native actors to give this job a try," Matten told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"We have that sense of family with each other. I always call it the circus. I'm just grateful that they're going to be joining the circus now with us," Matten said, referring to her co-stars, some of whom are new to show business.

Premiering Friday on Netflix, Rez Ball was produced by basketball legend LeBron James and Sterlin Harjo.

Harjo wrote the screenplay with Sydney Freeland, who also directed.

The movie follows the Chuska Warriors, a New Mexico high school basketball team comprised largely of Indigenous athletes.

Matten plays Heather Hobbs, the coach who tries to get them to the state championship after their star player takes his life.

"She's a former WNBA player who decides to come back to her reservation to uplift this group of young men," the actress said.

"Rez ball is something that brings our community together at large, and is a beacon of hope, sometimes in places where there is no light. This is our sport that brings us together and gives us great pride."

Kauchani Bratt, the nephew of actor Benjamin Bratt, described his Chuska team member character Jimmy Holiday as "a young, resilient Navajo kid."

"We watch him sort of navigate a tough home life, losing his best friend and that sort of affects his only peace, which has been basketball, 'rez ball,'" he said.

"We see him navigate these really tough situations and adversity and, ultimately, the challenges put in front of him, we see if he can rise to the challenge."

Devin Sampson-Craig calls Bryson Badonie, Jimmy's teammate, a "free spirit."

"Throughout the film, we see Bryson having to deal with a dysfunctional family at home," Sampson-Craig said.

"He's a young father and we see him go through a lot of adversity on and off the court," he added. "As his life is going 100 miles per hour, he's still maintaining himself in a way where he's a father, he's a hooper and he's a friend."

The movie required all three cast members to act while also playing basketball.

"The basketball really came easy and simple," Sampson-Craig said. "It was just off the court with the emotional and the dramatic scenes and the funny scenes, for me, were just more [challenging] to pinpoint. The basketball was second nature for me."

Bratt said his experience was a bit different from his co-stars'.

"On the third day of basketball camp, I twisted my ankle," he recalled.

"So, throughout the whole shoot, especially for the first half of it, my ankle was killing me, and that was something that I really had to try to work around," Bratt added.

"They wanted to send in a stunt double, but it's something I really wanted to see through and do all the way. Luckily, the producers were really willing to work with me and help me out, give me the care that I needed. Everyone was so supportive to carry me through."

Matten said: "I was actually exhausted watching them play because they would have to do take after take after take. And I was like, 'Oh, they are burning some calories.'"

Bratt and Sampson-Craig said they were honored to work with such accomplished artists such as Freeland, Harjo and Matten on the project

"I'd always been a big fan of them and then fast-forward to when I'm in the same room as these people, it's just so surreal," Bratt said.

"Then you realize, they're just normal human beings, too," he added. "And they're so humble and so amazing and they're super-welcoming."

Sampson-Craig gave a shout-out to Amber Midthunder, who plays Dezbah, the mother of Bryson's baby son in the movie.

"I feel like me and her were really able to connect on a level of, 'Alright, let's have Bryson and Dezbah be a loving couple, 'ride or dies' for each other," he said.

Sampson-Craig appreciated how Freeland invited his cast to offer their thoughts and feelings about their characters, recognizing how Native Americans are culturally and historically linked, yet distinctive depending on their specific ancestry.

"We're all very diverse in our own way, yet we're the same. But when it comes to certain humor, certain slang and all that, I would still say we're very different. The beautiful thing about it was that Sydney was allowing us to really [explore] that," Sampson-Craig said.

"I give props to Sydney and props to Amber for being able to flow with that because that made myself feel uncomfortable playing Bryson."

The cast also includes Cody Lightning, Dallas Goldtooth, Ernest David Tsosie, Kusem Goodwind, Zoey Reyes and Julia Jones.