Starring Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps and AFI Honorary Degree recipient Alfre Woodard, LOVE & BASKETBALL (2000) marked the feature directorial debut of another recipient of the American Film Institute’s degree: Gina Prince-Bythewood. The Sundance Institute helped get the film off the ground by inviting her to participate in its Directors Lab; after a staged reading of the script, there was a bidding war, which (degree recipient!) Spike Lee’s production company 40 Acres and a Mule ultimately won. In 2015, Prince-Bythewood served as an Artist-in-Residence for AFI’S Directing Workshop for Women.
Visit the AFI Catalog to learn more about LOVE AND BASKETBALL.
