A season of historic triumph had its uneasy moments.
The UCLA women’s basketball team is about to share that range of emotion with a national audience.
In “You See L.A.,” an hourlong documentary premiering Sunday evening on FS1, feelings are fully unveiled, including a tearful locker room scene after the Bruins lost to their arch rivals.
The UCLA women’s basketball team is about to share that range of emotion with a national audience. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
In “You See L.A.,” an hourlong documentary premiering Sunday evening on FS1, feelings are fully unveiled. AP
“This is not a fluff, just-celebrate-the-women piece,” UCLA coach Cori Close told The California Post of the project that followed the team last season on its first run to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four. “There are some vulnerable, hard, honest moments.
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“I mean, we had some incredible ups last year, but we actually had some really hard downs, and it takes the audience into the locker room after we lose the regular-season championship to USC. And there’s some challenging moments in that. And so I would tell people that this is a courageous, honest piece.”
There’s also plenty of celebration on display for a team that went 34-3 and avenged its two losses to USC by beating the Trojans in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
Close said she was drawn to the project through her friendship with Kelsey Trainor, one of the documentary’s executive producers who also worked on “Welcome to Wrexham.” Close said she admired the humanity and community connection on display in the soccer documentary about a pro team based in Wales that undergoes an ownership change.
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“I was like, OK, this is the kind of storytelling I really want,” Close said. “I didn’t want just another boring run-of-the-mill documentary.”
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In addition to game footage and locker room scenes, the documentary reveals a deeper layer by following the Bruins off the court.
“We want our players to really feel seen as in their character, in their personalities,” Close said, “and in the sort of storytelling to be reflective of the multidimensional, incredible women we have in this program.”
In addition to game footage and locker room scenes, the documentary also follows the Bruins off the court. Getty Images
Close said the nationwide exposure to the inner workings of her program could help in recruiting.
“I think we try to really sell that we are incredibly genuine, and we invest in people as more than basketball players,” Close said. “And I think this brings that to life and so it’s an illustration of what we say in recruiting, but I think it has the potential to really touch people’s hearts as they see it.”
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The team is expected to screen the film Friday, possibly at Close’s home. That will give players an early look before the premiere at 5 p.m. PST Sunday, immediately after the second-ranked Bruins play USC at the Galen Center in a game also televised by FS1.
Like their coach, the players might not enjoy reliving every moment.
After the Bruins lost to USC for the second time, giving the Trojans the Big Ten regular-season title, guard Gabriela Jaquez challenges her teammates to look in the mirror, show up and do whatever it takes to win the rest of the season.
The team is expected to screen the film Friday, possibly at Close’s home. AP
UCLA went on to win its next seven games before falling to UConn in a national semifinal. The ending is one of disappointment.
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“It leaves you wanting more,” Close said. “I actually had to be OK with that, and it wasn’t easy for me. When I watched it the first time, it was like PTSD, you know?”
More might be in store. A film crew has followed the team again this season as the Bruins chase their first NCAA championship, having won an AIAW title in 1978.
“Our hope is that we will have a Season 2,” Close said, “and that it will have a different ending.”
