Faces
Granny’s got game & former player has the story P
laying basketball was an obvi- ous choice for Angela Gorsica Alford, who by age 10 already towered over other children—on her way to a height of 6 feet 6 inches. But Alford didn’t imagine during her years as a college hoops star that she would wind up on the sidelines making a film about other women playing the sport she loved. Alford, a member of Good Shep- herd Lutheran Church, Raleigh, N.C., produced, shot and edited Granny’s Got Game. The film fol- lows women in their 70s who have been playing competitive senior bas- ketball as a team for almost 20 years. Unlike Alford, who earned a scholarship at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., and was offered a spot as a developmental player in the WNBA, these women had almost no opportunities to play beyond high school.
The documentary is part of
Alford’s new career, following years as a software programmer. She started making videos for wedding anniversaries and other events. Shar- ing personal stories soon became her passion. “It’s not as big a jump as you
might think, using my engineering skills as a filmmaker,” she said. “It’s a lot of sitting [by] the computer and solving problems. What’s new to me has been storytelling. I never even took an English class in college.” So Alford studied documentary
100 plus birthdays
Her love of telling personal narratives led Angela Gorsica Alford (inset) into filmmaking. Her first documentary fol- lowed the Fabulous 70s basketball team (above).
filmmaking at Duke University, Durham, N.C. One assignment was to create a 10-minute film, and she chose the Fabulous 70s senior women’s basketball team as her subject after meeting one of its members. “I went to practice one day,” Alford said. “I realized this could be a whole feature film, so I followed them for a year.” Alford’s role as filmmaker hit a snag during a tournament when a player
became ill. Her instinct was to become a caregiver. She put down the camera and went in the ambulance with the player—a decision she doesn’t regret. As a player, Alford said it’s important that she not treat her subjects as
“cute old people,” but rather as athletes who go through the same challenges that Alford experienced in college. Now in the distribution phase, Alford said her congregation has been sup-
portive, with hundreds of them coming to the movie’s premiere. She said the film’s inspirational message is a good fit for a Christian audience. Getting the word out about Granny’s Got Game has been, at times, frus-
trating, Alford said. But whenever she is discouraged, she heads to the gym to watch the Fabulous 70s practice. “Sometimes I feel like I can’t go on any more, and then I watch them,” she said. “It makes me happy and helps me keep working.”
Jeff Favre Favre is a contributing editor of The Lutheran.
For more information about the film, visit
www.grannysgotgame.com. To screen the film for a congregation, email
outreach@grannysgotgame.com.
107: Margot Glavis, Reformation, Washington, D.C. 103: Sis Keiser, St. John, Lewis- town, Pa. 102: Amelia Williams, Christ, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 101: Dagmar Haeger, Bethlehem, Lansing, Mich. 100: Katherine Anderson, Geneva, Geneva, Ill.; Edward Corneilson, Redeemer, Succasunna, N.J.; Phyllis Masch, Peace, Gahanna, Ohio; Anna Cesnak Orban, St. John/St. Paul, Akron, Ohio.
Share your stories of ELCA Lutherans and your 100+ members in “Faces.” Send to:
lutheran@thelutheran.org or “Faces,” The Lutheran, 8765 W. Hig gins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631.
September 2013 43
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