Akin Omotoso Interview: Rise
Although it tells the origin story of NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo (Uche Agada), Rise focuses heavily on the bond of family. The film follows the Antetokounmpos, who emigrate from Nigeria to Greece and struggle to obtain citizenship. With the threat of deportation hovering over them, Charles (Dayo Okeniyi, The Hunger Games) and Veronica (Yetide Badaki, American Gods, This Is Us)do their best to keep their children out of the public eye. Yet, being in the spotlight might be the family's only path to freedom.
Giannis is determined to use basketball to keep his family together, but, despite his talent, the Antetokounmpos are still faced with several obstacles. With the NBA player serving as an executive producer for the film, Rise is an authentic retelling of the Antetokounmpo family's struggles and successes.
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Director Akin Omotoso chats with Screen Rant about the creation of Rise and what it means to help the Antetokounmpo family share their story.
Screen Rant: Rise is an amazing film. I was cheering at times, I was tearing up at other times—there's so much to say about it. But is there anything specific that drew you to this story?
Akin Omotoso: Thanks for the question, and I'm really glad you said what you're saying because it's those elements that really drew me. I'm a huge NBA fan, basketball fan, and I'm always obsessed with the African players in the NBA and their journey and how they got there, you know? And so when I read Giannis' story in 2013—from the minute I understood the story—I felt like, man, if ever I made a film about a basketball player, it would be this guy's story. And this is in 2013, so I'm responding to the journey, like, his story, you know?
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