‘Giannis’ documentary to be on Prime
It will be available for streaming on Feb. 19
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo already has one Disney movie showing part of his story, and soon there will be a 1-hour, 48-minute documentary on Amazon Prime Video called “Giannis: The Marvelous Journey.”
The film was produced by Improbable Media, which was co-founded by Antetokounmpo and ESPN basketball analyst Jay Williams. It will be available for streaming on Feb. 19.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Antetokounmpo announced the launch of Improbable Media and its first featurelength production.
“It’s the true story about me and my family’s journey and I can’t wait to share it with you,” the post reads.
“Giannis: The Marvelous Journey,” features interviews with Antetokounmpo and his family, plus former Bucks head coach Jason Kidd, teammates Kris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, TNT commentators Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, and assistant coach Vin Baker.
“Through every turn of my journey, I realize how unlikely it was that I ended up where I am today,” Antetokounmpo said in a press release. “In everything that we do at Improbable Media, I want to inspire people from all backgrounds and walks of life on the power in making the improbable, probable in their lives, and I couldn’t be more excited to launch this new venture.”
Improbable is financially backed by Verance Capital and GPS Investment Partners, with investment from Williams.
Antetokounmpo’s rise from selling sunglasses and other trinkets on the streets of Greece to becoming an NBA MVP has been remarkable — and got the attention of filmmakers.
In 2022, Disney released “Rise” a drama about the Antetokounmpo’s life in Greece culminating with Giannis being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013.
In 2023, Antetokounmpo helped produce “The Flagmakers” about the large immigrant workers population at Eder Flag in Oak Creek. “The Flagmakers” won an Emmy for outstanding short documentary.
With the new documentary on Amazon Prime, fans will see footage of the Antetokounmpo’s life in Nigeria and Greece, and how his family overcame poverty to immigrate to the United States.
The production company has plans to produce a scripted feature with Greek-American filmmaker Christopher André Marks. The movie is currently untitled but is described as an “Ocean’s 11-style heist comedy set in Greece.” Filming begins in spring.