Two Non-Swimming Film Projects by Swimming People That You Need to See

There are two upcoming non-swimming projects, by swimming people, that you should go see.

Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers

The latest take on the storied history of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic and successful franchises in sports, Hulu’s new 10-part docuseries drops its first two episodes on August 15th.

Among the executive producers of the series are Kevin Mann and his Haven Entertainment company. He is also the head coach of one of Southern California’s other iconic franchises: the boys’ swimming & diving program at Loyola High School.

Mann grew up in Washington D.C., where he swam for Gonzaga College High School and then Syracuse University. After graduation he moved to California with the idea of going to law school after working for a year or two. Right about the time he called Loyola, a boys’ Jesuit high school that reminded him of Gonzaga, to see if they needed help on the coaching deck, Mann fell into a job working for Jimmy Kimmel at Comedy Central. Over the next decade, while he rose from Production Assistant to Producer to CEO of his own firm, he continued to coach the Loyola boys’ swim team.

• Read more about Mann here.

The Loyola boys won the 2022 California high school state championship, even without a 200 free relay (they were disqualified at the Sectionals meet). The school is home to a number of top high school recruits, including one of the best in the class of 2023 nationally, Rex Maurer.

The series features never-before-seen footage from the rise of the Lakers dynasty under Jerry Buss, and interviews with some of the biggest names in sports history, like Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neill, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “the logo” Jerry West, and Phil Jackson.

The series gives an incredible insight into professional sports, building franchises, and the difficult dynamics of managing great athletes. It’s not about swimming, but the lessons might translate too.

Trailer:

Queen of Glory

Queen of Glory is a feature film about Ghanaian-American scientist Sarah. She is the brilliant child of immigrants who is quitting her Columbia University PhD program to follow her lover (who is married to someone else) to Ohio. But when her mother dies, she inherits a neighborhood bookstore in the Bronx.

The movie is the brainchild of Nana Mensah, who makes her feature film directorial debut – while also writing and starring in the film.

Already a darling of the film festival tour, it won Mensah a Best New Narrative Director award at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, and a Best Feature Film award at the San Diego International Film Festival (among many other wins and nominations).

Among the producers of the movie is Kelley Robins Hicks, a former swimmer at the University of Texas. There, she was an NCAA Champion and part of an American Record setting relay at the 2001 NCAA Championships. She swam the 2nd leg of the Longhorns’ 200 free relay that finished in 1:28.89; she had a 22.36 split that year as a junior.

Robins began her career in Hollywood as a writer and actor, but more recently has moved heavily into production (she also had co-producer credits on the Space Jam remake last year).

The film is a classic immigrant’s tale that explores feelings of a second-generation American who doesn’t quite feel at home either in the country of their birth, or the country of their parents’ birth.

The movie premiered in theaters on July 15, and this weekend will be showing at the Regal Arbor 8 in the Arboretum in Austin, Texas. It can also be streamed on Vudu.

Trailer: