No Look Pass

In June, Showtime rolled out a series of films in honor of Gay Pride month. One of them being Melissa Johnson’s “No Look Pass”.

The story focuses on aspiring professional basketball player Emily Tay, a rising star at Harvard. As a first generation Asian immigrant from Burma, Tay integrates well with her teammates and is a rising star on the court.

The film picks up as Tay nears the end of her collegiate career at Harvard. Tay, along with her close friend Katie weigh the options of what’s next. To remain in the U.S. and pursue a spot on a WNBA team, or consider going to Germany and start their pro careers.

Tay’s traditional parents — who came to the country with just a few dollars to their name — would much prefer to marries off to some handsome doctor or lawyer and settle herself financially.

All of this is complicated by the fact that Tay is a lesbian, something her parents are unaware of.

This secret hangs like a thread for the entirety of the film.

When Emily and Katie land on a German team together, they struggling in adopting to new surroundings and taking on added responsibilities of being a professional

But at the same time, Tay finds someone in her personal life that she loves.

And this is when I realize the entire film is her coming out party. Her way of delivering the message to her parents, a message that’s hard to process given the guidelines of tradition and expectations.

It’s an engaging film that while highlights the internal conflict of Tay’s situation, but also gives breadth to the college to pro basketball experience for a female player.

So while we wait for ESPN’s “30 For 30” to roll out their next installment, put “No Look Pass” a worthy honorary member on the list of sports documentaries worth watching.

Footnotes:

“No Look Pass” is currently airing on Showtime, which you can find by checking the schedule here. Additional information on the film can be found on their official website.

Posted on 4 August, 2012

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    Looks quite interesting, will check it out.
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