Off the Rez

Director:  Jonathan Hock
USA 86’, 2011, color
English with Turkish subtitles 

With "Off the Rez," Jonathan Hock turns his cameras to America's forgotten "hood," the Indian Reservation, where a unique family drama is playing out.  Shoni Schimmel was a high-school junior living on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, the star basketball player on the local team. Then Shoni's mother, Ceci Moses, took a job coaching a high school team in Portland, and against the wishes of her own mother and grandmother on the "Rez," Ceci brought Shoni and her seven other children with her. Now, Shoni's senior year has become the most important year of their lives as mother and daughter fight to prove that Native American women can become champions off the Rez.  Certain families, through talent, timing, character and conviction, reach a point where they can change the course of their lives forever. If they succeed, they can become an example of pride and inspiration to their People while opening the eyes of all Americans to their story. Shoni and her family have that opportunity today, and the film of their lives promises to be truly unforgettable.