“Believe in Me,” an inspiring film based on the true story of a girls basketball team in Oklahoma in 1964, will play for a one-time benefit screening for The Santa Barbara Channels on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, 721 E Cota St.

The film, which originally premiered several years ago to sold-out audiences at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, was written, directed and produced by Santa Barbara resident Robert Collector, who will answer audience questions and talk about how he made the film, how me taught the actresses to play basketball, and more.

The true story behind the film revolves around a young coach who thought he was being hired to coach a boys’ team only to find himself handed a losing group of girls. How he responds, gets the girls to play as a team, confronts community bias about girls’ athletics and evaluates his own priorities is part of the story. 

“This is a great film for families, for anyone interested in sports, for teams to attend as a group,” commented Hap Freund, Executive Director of the nonprofit Santa Barbara Channels, which operates Channel 17 (community access) and Channel 21 (Culture, Arts and Education). Freund added that the opportunity to talk directly with the local filmmaker should be of interest to local student in film and video. “It’s a wonderful film about basketball and about the era before Title 9. It’s also beautifully shot, incorporates period music, and really gets audiences involved.”

Tickets for the Feb. 20 benefit screening are $10 each if purchased from the Lobero Ticket Agency, at 333 E. Canon Perdido. Tickets purchased via phone at 805.963.0761 and online (www.lobero.com) carry a service charge. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Hap Freund is executive director of The Santa Barbara Channels.