Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibilityThe Brittney Griner Story | 2026 Sundance Film Festival
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The Brittney Griner Story

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United States2025105 minEnglish
Brittney Griner Story

Explores the circumstances that led to Brittney Griner playing basketball outside the U.S. despite being one of the best players in the sport, including her harrowing detainment, unwavering determination to secure her freedom, and her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees.

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Explores the circumstances that led to Brittney Griner playing basketball outside the U.S. despite being one of the best players in the sport, including her harrowing detainment, unwavering determination to secure her freedom, and her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees.

The media frenzy surrounding the detainment and eventual release of Brittney Griner was highly politicized, fueled by speculation and attempts to leverage her narrative to advance political agendas. Now, director Alexandria Stapleton gives the floor to Griner to tell her story, alongside her wife, Cherelle, and an inner circle of friends and family.

This intimate access grounds the film in Griner’s humanity, reminding us she is a wife, parent, daughter, sister, and friend — far more than just an athlete-turned-political pawn. Griner opens up about her childhood, the disappointment and fear surrounding her detainment, her harrowing experience in a Russian penal colony, and the complicated negotiations to get her home. It’s a riveting story of resilience, anchored by a family who never stopped pushing for her release and that of others. — SO

Available in person only.

PremieresAll FeaturesBIPOC StoriesBiographyLGBTQ+ StoriesWomen-Centered StoriesNonfictionClosed CaptionOpen CaptionU.S. Only- less

Credits

  • Director(s)

    Alexandria Stapleton

  • Producers

    Alexandria Stapleton

    Stacy Scripter

    Funmi Akinyode

    Megan Goedewaagen

    Carolyn Hepburn

  • Executive Producer

    Lindsay Kagawa Colas

    Jon Liebman

    Cherelle Griner

    Brian Lockhart

    Burke Magnus

    Marsha Cooke

    Heather Anderson

  • Editors

    Rosella Tursi

    Benjamin Kast

  • Director of Photography

    Eve Cohen

  • Subject

    Brittney Griner

    Cherelle Griner

  • Company

    ESPN

  • Contact

    Maria Delgado

    maria.delgado@espn.com

    6464686103

Meet the Artist

Panelist Name

Alexandria Stapleton

    Alexandria Stapleton is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and the founder of House of NonFiction. She directed The Brittney Griner Story for ESPN and Sean Combs: The Reckoning for Netflix, as well as films for Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, and HBO. She is currently working on a feature doc about NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens.

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