NBA Star Derrick Rose Debuts As Filmmaker With Short Honoring Chicago Roots

'Becoming A Rose' is a film Rose has dedicated to his hometown, Chicago.

Retired NBA star Derrick Rose will debut as a director on Jan. 4 at the United Center with his short film “Becoming A Rose,” which he has dedicated to his hometown, Chicago. The film, which has a runtime shy of four minutes, was co-directed by the former Chicago Bulls player in collaboration with his shoe sponsor, Adidas.

According to The Athletic, a private screening of the film was held on Jan. 2 before its public debut. Rose donned black sunglasses at the screening because he knew he would become emotional, partly because his son, 12-year-old PJ Rose, narrates the film.

“That’s why I had to wear the glasses, because I knew I was going to get emotional. I can’t explain it. That’s something that you see in movies, or I’m normally on the couch watching somebody get this,” Rose told the outlet.

https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1875343256902602976?s=19

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson marked Jan. 4 as Derrick Rose Day. Although the Bulls’ game against the Knicks, another team Rose played for during his career, is being marketed as “Derrick Rose Night,” the film is about the city that made him.

“I want the city to feel like they can stunt on another city or state and be, like, ‘Look what we got. Look what we made,’” Rose told The Athletic. “Because it’s no way that I could tell my story without telling the city’s story.”

According to Joakim Noah, his former Bulls teammate and friend Rose, whose nickname “Pooh” was given to him by his grandmother, is a rare talent who thrived in the spotlight of leading his hometown team.

“Pooh’s as special as they come. When that crowd (Saturday) is going to chant ‘MVP,’ it’s bigger than just basketball. It’s just beautiful to see how far he’s come. This story is about more than just winning a championship. This is a painful story. This is as soulful as they come. This is a Chicago story,” Noah told the outlet.

Although the film is a coming home of sorts for Derrick Rose, the basketball player, it is also a settling of the learned values of Derrick Rose, a citizen of Chicago.

As he told The Athletic, Rose was determined to use Black and Latinx people from Chicago as opposed to hiring outsiders.

“We could shoot this film, and we could have used everybody from different cities and fly them in, but we used people who were from here. A lot of us were (Black and Brown people) on the set working. That’s where I see us, our team, adapting: giving in different ways, finding unique ways to show gratitude,” Rose said.

He continued, “When you look at the economy and really think practically about what’s going on and how people are hurting, coming back here and just seeing the visual, certain places still look the same. Every year I’m going to come back, it may still look the same. I’m going to say that for the next 10, 20 years The question is going to come up, ‘Who’s going to change it?’ I’ll answer the question: It’s going to be me. It’s going to have to be me or my team to change it. Taking responsibility, taking ownership in it…but doing it smart and doing it the right way by employing people and giving people opportunities.”

Rose concluded, “This is going to represent a Chicago feel, a Chicago way, of presenting ourselves to the world. It’s all intrinsic. It’s all real, and I hope you guys love it.”