Rose Gold (Australian Films, Documentaries)
Director: Matthew Adekponya
Producer: Richard Finlayson
Cinematographer: Dale Cochrane, Danielle Robertson, Marco Noé, Matthew Adekponya, Sam Tolhurst
Company Credit: Distributor: Madman Entertainment
Sit courtside as the Boomers win their history-making Olympic medal and affirm Australia as a force to be reckoned with in global basketball.
On 7 August 2021, the Australian men’s basketball team, the Boomers, defeated Slovenia 107–93 at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. That win earned them a podium spot, behind the US and France, their ‘rose gold’ third-place medal breaking a 65-year streak of losses and agonising near-misses.
Matthew Adekponya’s feature debut is a clear three-pointer: not only a behind-the-scenes look at how the Boomers achieved their first ever international medal, but also the story of basketball in the country and a thrilling account of mateship that saw Australia held up on the world stage. A former pro-basketballer, Adekponya weaves behind-the-scenes footage from his years embedded with the team, with exclusive interviews from coaches, commentators and a star-studded line-up of Australian and NBA players (including Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Andrew Gaze, Andrew Bogut and Matisse Thybulle). Rose Gold, with creative consultation from Kriv Stenders (Australia Day, MIFF 2017; Red Dog, MIFF 2011) and Allan Clarke (Dark Emu; Australian Story: Blood on the Tracks), is an unmissable, insiders’-view document of an unforgettable moment in Australian sport and the never-say-die determination that brought the nation’s team to glory.