by New York, NY (December 8, 2021) – Alaska Airlines will partner up with the highly anticipated basketball documentary ALASKAN NETS to present the ALASKAN NETS High School Movie Night, a free movie night for kids, their schools and their communities around the country and Canada. The film recently made its world premiere at the 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in the Documentary Competition this past year and won the Audience Choice Award.
Alaska Airlines will sponsor the nationwide high school film tour where any high school in the U.S., U.S. Territories and Canada can host a screening of ALASKAN NETS at no cost to the schools this coming January through March before the film is released.
Schools have the option to make it a school-wide or community-wide event where they sell tickets, school merchandise, concessions, raffles, etc. and 100% of what they make goes right back into their athletic departments. This is intended to give back to high school sports programs that do so much good for kids and communities around the U.S. and Canada.
Additionally, any team/school that hosts a screening of the film will have a chance to win a trip for both their boys and girls basketball teams to participate in next year’s Alaska Airlines Classic high school basketball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska—all courtesy of Alaska Airlines. Alaska Airlines will fly the winning school’s teams to Alaska for a once-in-a-lifetime experience to play against some of the best teams in the state. All they have to do is register their school, host a screening and they’ll have the chance to enter the contest to win the trip for their boys and girls basketball teams. It doesn’t matter if their screening is for their whole community or just for their basketball/sports teams, they’ll still have the opportunity to enter the contest.
ALASKAN NETS is directed and produced by Jeff Harasimowicz of Raised By Wolves, and produced by Ryan Welch of AO Films. The film is also executive produced by Chris Pratt and his production company, Indivisible Productions, in association with SLAM and RTG Features. News about the film’s acquisition and distribution will be announced in the coming weeks.
The film is set on a remote island off the coast of southeast Alaska that is home to the Tsimshian Indians and Alaska’s last remaining native reserve, Metlakatla. For more than a century, two sacred traditions have defined Metlakatla: fishing and basketball. In an improbable journey, two cousins lead their team and town in search of their first state championship in more than thirty years—the only thing that will bring life back to an island that has been rocked by unimaginable tragedy.
“In these challenging times, sharing this story of community, sports and the power of hope with kids, their schools and their communities around the country is a small gesture that better times are ahead,” said Harasimowicz. “From the outset of this project, Alaska Airlines believed in the power of the story and the importance of sharing it with the world. I’m so grateful to be partnered with an organization that believes in connecting people, the representation of underrepresented communities and reinvesting in communities across North America. They are as genuine and authentic as they come, and I’m honored to have their support with our film, ALASKAN NETS.”
“I spent part of my childhood growing up in Alaska and know first hand the reality of being raised in a small town dominated by a major sport, so Alaskan Nets resonates with me on a very personal level, said Chris Pratt. “I’m thrilled to help bring this inspiring story of Metlakatla to high schools nationwide.”
“Alaska Airlines is proud to support the ALASKAN NETS High School Movie Night,” said Marilyn Romano, Regional Vice President at Alaska Airlines. “When Jeff reached out to us with the idea for the film, shot here in Alaska and featuring the boys basketball team from Metlakatla, it was clear that our mission of connecting communities was a direct connection to the film itself. As an airline, we prioritize working with schools and community partners to impact the academic and athletic success of our youth. And in Alaska, we really are the school bus that brings far-reaching communities together to compete. We look forward to seeing high schools across Alaska, the U.S. and Canada enjoy this film, and support the communities they belong to with their local High School Movie Night screening.”
In addition to ALASKAN NETS, RTG Features just premiered the documentary, HANDLE WITH CARE: THE LEGEND OF THE NOTIC STREETBALL CREW, winner of the True North Audience Award at the recent Vancouver International Film Festival. Their remarkable slate of basketball-themed projects also includes PAU GASOL: IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY, which is currently streaming on Prime Video, the narrative podcast series, THE WORLD OF FIVE-STAR, chronicling the untold story of the legendary basketball camp, and the Ja Morant docuseries, PROMISELAND, currently streaming on Crackle. Their first feature doc, A KID FROM CONEY ISLAND, which follows the career of Stephon Marbury, was released last year and is currently streaming on Netflix.
For more information or to register your school, visit alaskannets.net.
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About SLAM & RTG Features:
For 27 years and counting, SLAM has been the most authentic brand in basketball storytelling. What started as a magazine in 1994 has now grown into a global lifestyle brand and multimedia property with 20-plus social channels, a burgeoning merchandise division and multiple franchise events annually. RTG, which stands for “Respect the Game,” is a film and TV production and financing studio. With basketball storytelling as its priority, RTG focuses on original development, along with adapting articles from SLAM’s 230-plus magazine issues into both scripted and unscripted multimedia projects ranging from feature films and television to documentaries and podcasts.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. We emphasize Next-Level Care for our guests, along with providing low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. Alaska is a member of the oneworld global alliance. With the alliance and our additional airline partners, guests can travel to more than 1,000 destinations on more than 20 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
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Media Contact:
Erik Bright
Jason Kasperski
Prodigy PR
310-857-2020 x 700
eb@prodigypublicrelations.com
jk@prodigypublicrelations.com
