Jeremy Lin ‘blown away’ as ‘38 at the Garden’ documentary debuts at Tribeca Film Festival
- Taiwanese-American former NBA star attends world premiere of film revisiting 2012 ‘Linsanity’ run at New York Knicks
- ‘It’s about different groups of people coming together, uniting and moving forward,’ Lin says on red carpet in New York City
Former NBA star Jeremy Lin has admitted he was “blown away” after a documentary revisiting his “Linsanity” run at the New York Knicks debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The 33-year-old Taiwanese-American attended the world premiere of 38 at the Garden on Tuesday. The film’s title alludes to the night Lin kicked off the cultural phenomenon known as “Linsanity” by scoring 38 points against the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden in 2012.
“It’s about different groups of people coming together, uniting and moving forward,” Lin said of the short film on the red carpet, in the same city where he unexpectedly led a turnaround of the Knicks during the 2011-12 NBA season and found international fame as a trailblazer for Asian-Americans in basketball.
“To me, Jeremy’s story is one of perseverance, dignity and possibility,” added Indian-American comedian and political commentator Hasan Minhaj, who is interviewed in the documentary.
Minhaj also moderated a conversation featuring Lin after the film’s screening, discussing the perception of Asian-Americans in sport, and racism in America.
“Yesterday was my first time [watching the film] and I cried, and I don’t cry,” Lin said during the Q&A.
“I spent my whole life trying to be good at basketball because on the court my skin colour didn’t matter,” he added. “But once I played basketball all that mattered was my skin colour.”
Lin added that his Christian faith was his inspiration, because “I didn’t have someone doing what I was doing to inspire me”.
“NO project or film ever [makes] it this far without the help of a community,” Lin later wrote in an Instagram post. “Still blown away at all the love. Tribeca family & friends screening in the books!”
The film is directed by Frank Chi, and produced by Travon Free and Samir Hernandez, who won an Oscar for the 2020 short Two Distant Strangers.
“Shout out the entire team for this doc: Travon, Frank, Samir, you cooked up something special,” he added.
The documentary has been acquired by HBO, which will air it on its networks and streaming platforms starting later this year.
Lin left the NBA in August 2019 for the Beijing Ducks, where he became an All-Star in the Chinese Basketball Association, which is currently in its off-season.
He is now training in the US, with the CBA’s 2022-23 campaign set to start later this year.
