VENUS AND SERENA [2012]


Venus and Serena takes an unfiltered look into the remarkable lives of the greatest sister-act professional sports has ever seen. When the tennis world refused to welcome them, the indomitable Williams sisters faced opposition with grace and courage, not only breaking new ground for female and African-American athletes everywhere, but dominating the women’s game for over a decade. With unprecedented access, this film tells the inspiring story of how these two women — against all odds but with the help of visionary parents — made it to the top.

REVIEWS

“An engaging, warts-and-all look at the Williams sisters...of interest to more than just sports fans.”
— Variety
“Any tennis fan interested in a straight-up account of what makes these fiercely talented players tick — and how they’ve felt, and continue to feel, about their reception by and place in the professional tennis community — will find much to enjoy in ‘Venus and Serena.’”
— New York Post
“Baird and Major’s film combines rare news footage and home movies with much arresting new material: interviews with the sisters, their family, and high-profile fans; clips from their 2011 matches; and footage of them training, recovering from illnesses, and goofily singing karaoke (a Serena obsession)... [Serena] and Venus are never denied their complexity or humanity.”
— Village Voice
“The filmmakers remain admirably unbiased, a rarity in biographical documentaries. They neither worship nor vilify their subject, but allow her to define herself on her own unapologetically complex terms.”
— New York Daily News
“A fascinating story...and [Baird and Major] tell it well.”
— The Wrap
“Venus and Serena is a film that should be in every home, church and school library. It’s an impressive, landmark film that sings a powerful song.”
— The New York Amsterdam News