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Curry, in the midst of NBA playoffs, greeted �ʼһ��� filmgoers with an onscreen message. Spoiler alert: He loves his alma mater.

“I hope you enjoy this film about where it all started,” he said. “Thank you for the love, and thanks for showing up.”

It’s a coup for a small liberal arts college to be selected for such an event, but watching the two-hour documentary that centers on Curry’s time here unequivocally answers the “Why �ʼһ���?” question.

“There’s the Sundance Film Festival, the San Francisco Film Festival and now the �ʼһ��� Film Festival,” college President Doug Hicks ’90 joked of the documentary’s rare screenings. Fitting, he said, because Curry models �ʼһ��� values, “through the way he conducts himself, on the court and off.”

Curry’s combination of extraordinary talent developed through extraordinarily hard work and a drive to make a difference in basketball—and the world—as an underdog, consistently weaves its way through the film.

The family members, teammates, coaches and friends who know him best, and current �ʼһ��� students who know him by his legacy, reinforced that message as they pondered his journey, on-screen and off.

“�ʼһ��� had a huge role in his life. Leaving home for the first time, spreading his wings and playing for a great coach in a great community—he grew up here,” his father, former NBA star Dell Curry, said before the premiere. “We all have a lot to be thankful to �ʼһ��� for.”

The Curry Era

And �ʼһ��� has much to thank Curry for, from the national light he’s shined on the college to the worthy ventures he and wife Ayesha support, including Lula Bell’s Resource Center and a scholarship endowment for women’s athletics.

“If there is one constant about Stephen Curry, he has touched our hearts,” former men’s basketball coach Bob McKillop said. “He plays and lives with such great joy. Win, lose, success, failure, he always has joy, and you never leave him without being joyful.”

Highlights of the film include the 2008 NCAA tournament, when Curry and his Wildcat teammates busted the brackets and clawed their way into the Elite Eight. It’s a season filled with triumph and heartbreak, and a few at the premier shed tears.

After the viewing, McKillop, Dell Curry and Jason Richards ’08, Stephen Curry’s �ʼһ��� teammate, sat for a panel discussion with Hicks.

“What was it like to be his teammate at �ʼһ���?” Hicks asked Richards.

“When Stephen showed up on campus, we knew there was something special about him,” Richards said. “Seeing the time that he put in, the work ethic that he has, even though he was a freshman, he came as a leader. To see him grow from where he was at �ʼһ��� to where he is now, we’d be lying to say we saw this coming. But it doesn’t surprise me because he perfects his craft and continues to get better every day...on and off the court.”

Emmy Award winner Peter Nicks directed and produced the documentary for Apple Original Films and A24. It will appear in select theaters and premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 21, 2023. 

Nicks produced with Academy Award nominee Ryan Coogler, Erick Peyton, Sean Havey, Ben Cotner and Marissa Torres Ericson. Emily Osborne, Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler are executive producers.

“Everyone in the �ʼһ��� Community should feel some ownership of this film because Stephen Curry has made that happen,” McKillop said. “Everyone knows where Stephen Curry went to school because Stephen Curry has wanted it to be known. You see �ʼһ��� up there in this film and you see that the star of this movie has honored his commitment. He makes us all very proud.”

Richards says Curry inspires loyalty through leadership.