“Off the Rez”, Eight-time Emmy award winning filmmaker Jonathan Hock’s latest documentary film, is a story about a Native American family in Oregon that leaves the reservation in pursuit of the American dream on behalf of one of their eight children.
Shoni Schimmel, a 16 year-old girl from the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon is one of the best high school basketball players in the country.
The teen has hoop dreams of her own with the camera following her move from the reservation for her junior and senior years at Franklin High School in Portland where her determined mother, Ceci, takes a coaching position.
In an interview with David Davis for the LA84 Foundation newsletter, Hock, who’s credits include “The Lost Son of Havana” and “Through the Fire”, talks about how the project came about and parallels in the sport to different cultures, ‘Hoops on the reservation is the same as it is in the inner-city ghettos all around the country. It’s the same thing. And the reservation, in many ways, is the same thing as the ghetto. It’s just not in the middle of the city.’
