Raptors 30th anniversary double feature now available on Crave
Published
An exciting new double feature celebrating the Toronto Raptors’ 30th season as an NBA franchise has arrived.
Premiering today on Crave and airing Monday, March 17 on TSN, Canadian basketball fans can catch We The North: From Prehistoric to Historic, and Inbound, two documentaries that tell the story of Canada’s NBA franchise and how it became engrained culturally throughout the country.
We The North: From Prehistoric to Historic, a Crave original documentary, chronicles the Raptors’ rich history, from the inception of the franchise in 1993 all the way to their championship in 2019 and beyond.
The film revisits all the determinative stages, including the Vince Carter years, the ‘We The North’ movement and Toronto’s victory over the Golden State Warriors five-and-a-half years ago that gave fans north of the border something nobody can ever take away.
Oscar-nominated director Sami Khan and UNINTERUPTED Canada filmmaker Vinay Virmani worked together on the feature. Virmani, the film’s producer, told TSN this week he sought not only to recount the past 30 years of the Raptors’ on-court history, but what helped shape the franchise into becoming a mainstay in Canadian culture as well.
“I think where audiences will get really surprised is that a lot of us know the sport journey of this team. Really what I think We The North explores is the cultural impact of the team,” Virmani said.
The film features exclusive interviews with a number of key Raptor figures and cultural icons, including Kyle Lowry, Masai Ujiri, Jack Armstrong, Matt Devlin, Jessie Reyez, Kardinal Offishall, Boi-1da and Simu Liu – who also executive produced the project – among many others.
“There’s so many amazing figures that mean so much to Toronto and Canada that have shaped so much of our culture. And I think just hearing their perspective and hearing it through their lens is just such a refreshing take on really telling the story of this team,” Virmani said.
Matt Devlin, Masai Ujiri, Kyle Lowry, Vinay Virmani, Simu Liu, Tyrone Edwards attend screening
He also said telling stories that are uniquely Canadian made the project even more special.
“Honestly a lot of the work we’ve done with TSN and Crave, be it Black Ice, The Grizzlie Truth, Wick: The Hayley Wickenheiser Story, so many of our films are so proudly Canadian. I think the access we’re able to get, we’re very blessed. But for me it’s always about finding the humanity in these sports stories that I think make them transcendent and make them so special.”
Inbound explores how a change in Canada’s immigration policy more than 50 years ago has led to a rise in Canadian basketball talent that continues to succeed and impress on a global stage.
“Inbound is both a reflection and celebration of the immense impact basketball has had in Canada and the game’s unique role in forging meaningful connections between fans and athletes of different backgrounds,” said Arnon de Mello, managing director, NBA Latin America and Canada, in a news release.
“We’re excited to give fans around the world an in-depth look at the extraordinary rise of basketball in Canada, which the Toronto Raptors have been at the centre of.”
Produced by Hannah Lerner and directed by Davin Black of Victory, Inbound also explores the shared trajectory between Canada’s rise as a basketball powerhouse and the circumstances that helped shape the country’s multicultural identity over the years.
Both films had a successful theatrical release in 43 Cineplex locations across nine provinces last month and are now at your fingertips to enjoy on TSN, Crave, or the NBA App, with the exception of China, Japan, Russia and Belarus.
We The North: From Prehistoric to Historic airs Monday, March 17 prior to the Raptors’ game against the Phoenix Suns on TSN3, TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Check out the Crave-TSN Bundle here.