Confessions of a jumbotron addict

Brimming with joy and subtle humour, this animated documentary details how a Brooklyn Nets fan named Ben Wheeler leveraged his distinctive energy and sharp pattern-spotting skills to get on the jumbotron at his favourite team’s arena again and again. The story centres on a tense double-overtime home game that demanded his unique brand of rhythmic uplift, drawing out the tension, unpredictability and sense of togetherness that makes live sports so popular. More than just an account of one man’s mission to get his dance moves in front of thousands of NBA fans – although it certainly is that – the US director Mickey Duzyj’s Confessions of a Jumbotron Addict is a lively celebration of the shared spaces where people feel free to let loose and get weird. Call it collective effervescence, or call it going ‘a little too wild’, as Wheeler does – there’s something fun, and ultimately quite human, about having permission to toss away society’s rigid expectations in a shared space.