The Year of the Yao
Starring: Yao Ming, Colin Pine
Directors: James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo
The film: When Chinese basketballer Yao Ming was first choice in North America's National Basketball Association (NBA) draft by the struggling Houston Rockets in 2002, the reaction was mixed.
In the US, few people outside the NBA knew what to make of him. Those on the inside knew Yao was a gifted athlete. But the big question was whether this giant of a man (he's 2.26 metres tall) from Shanghai could adjust to life in the rough-and-tumble world of professional basketball.
Yao has done almost all that has been asked of him - establishing himself as one of the dominant forces in the NBA and winning over fans and foes alike with his laid-back demeanour and sly sense of humour. The Year of the Yao follows him for that first season. It would be a pretty stock-standard effort from the people at the NBA who put the film together were it not for the presence of Yao's young interpreter Colin Pine.