Beyond Banners

ABOUT THE FILM

Beyond Banners™ tells the story of Gwynn Park, a Prince George’s County, Maryland high school basketball powerhouse, and the generations who built it into a 60-year public-school legacy.

For six decades, the program created a culture rooted in mentorship and community. Through the father-son coaching lineage of Howard and Steve Matthews, the film asks whether a homegrown tradition can survive an era of transfers and youth basketball driven more by business than community.

CREATIVE TEAM

The Beyond Banners™ team brings experience from Amazon and Netflix.

Andre Jackson – Brings creative storytelling experience from industry.

Sue O’Hora – Credits include When Wire Was King.

Everett Ray – Known for bold, emotional visual cinematography.

Henry Gretzinger — Animator with credits on The Last Dance.

Daniel Bowie — Editor with credits on Basketball County: In The Water.

Jeremy Zunk – Sound Mixer with work featured on HBO and PBS.

Barrinton Baynes – Digital Curator specializing in archival preservation.

FEATURED VOICES

Tubby Smith

Randolph Childress

Dr. Ida E. Jones

Man seated in a chair while a woman holds a film slate in a cozy room.

Hall of fame coach links Gwynn Park’s past dominance to the modern landscape.

Dr. Ida E. Jones

Randolph Childress

Dr. Ida E. Jones

A smiling woman sits in a library surrounded by bookshelves.

A historian who frames Gwynn Park’s rise through community, race, and integration dynamics.

Randolph Childress

Man sitting on a chair on a basketball court at Wake Forest University.

College basketball legend shares how one coach helped guide his path to the NBA.

Neil Greenberger

Randolph Childress

An elderly man sits on a chair in a peaceful outdoor courtyard with wooden rocking chairs.

Washington Post sports editor reviews Gwynn Park’s historic rise.

Lou Wilson

Neil Greenberger

Lou Wilson

Man in blue sweatshirt sits as clapperboard is held in front of him on basketball court.

A prominent high school coach illuminates Gwynn Park’s defining rivalry.

Championship Banners

Tim Carney (1968), Larry Gandee (1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1980), Owen Johnson Sr. (1983), and George Leftwich (1987, 1988).

Larry Gandee

Coach Gandee led Gwynn Park to eight state championship games. His leadership and success helped shaped the program and its winning tradition.

Howard Matthews

For more than three decades, Howard shaped generations of young student-athletes at Gwynn Park and built the feeder system that fueled the school’s rise.

Steve Matthews

Howard Matthews

Howard’s youngest son, Steve, took on his father’s mission—and elevated Gwynn Park to unprecedented heights.

A smiling couple posing on a basketball court with yellow and black bleachers.

I LIVED THIS STORY…

Beyond Banners is a deeply personal film for me because I did not come to this story as an outsider. I lived it. I played for Steve Matthews and was shaped by the Gwynn Park community.

I made this film to honor that legacy, and to explore what it takes to sustain a public-school basketball dynasty in a changing world.

In telling this story, I wanted to examine not just the tradition itself, but the responsibility of preserving it when the cultural and community foundations that built it are no longer as certain as they once were.

LOGLINE

We bled black and gold, not red

GALLERY

IMPACT