Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

Jess is a British Punjabi eighteen-year-old in West London who plays soccer better than anyone in her park, and her parents want her to learn to cook a full Indian dinner. She joins a women's team behind their backs, falls for her coach, and has to find a way to be both daughters at once. It's a comedy with a wedding, an ugly sports bra and a lot of heart.

Why it’s here: The film makes a joke out of the fight between family expectations and a girl's ambition, and the girl wins on her own terms. What's punk is that Jess isn't asked to choose between her people and her game. What's pedagogical is how it handles racism, sexism and homophobia in a form a family can watch together. Pairs with Persepolis and Funny Boy.

Steve James followed two Black teenagers from Chicago's housing projects, William Gates and Arthur Agee, for five years as they tried to turn basketball into a way out. They are recruited to a suburban Catholic school, injured, dropped and picked up again, and their families pay for it. The film runs three hours and doesn't hurry.

Why it’s here: The film takes apart the idea that sports is the way out by staying with the families when it doesn't work. What's punk is that the boys and their parents are the authors of the story. What's pedagogical is how clearly it shows tuition, scouting and recruiting as systems. Pairs with Most Likely to Succeed and The Shame of the Nation.