Last week the IRC here in San Diego did a showing of Salaam Dunk.  I’ve never been much into documentaries but one of my students studied abroad in the Middle East and thought we could go together.  I have to say that I was highly entertained and moved by their story.  The film follows the season of the women’s basketball team at American University of Iraq.  The team is in their second season and prior to coming to college, most of the girls had never ran, let alone played basketball.  While their record and skills are somewhat dismal, they are redeemed by becoming a team and overcoming the barriers of ethnicity and religion.  There were a few things that struck me about the film: 1) I was amazed at their English; most of the girls had perfect accents, 2) they were very honest about the war and the fear it invoked, which made me really think about what they went through, and 3) I thought it was amazing how a simple thing like basketball could be so controversial but also was a vehicle for reconciliation.  Check out the trailer: