Breadcrumb Trail LinksEntertainmentLocal EntertainmentSportsBasketballSami Khan, an Oscar-nominated director from Sarnia, tells the story of Toronto’s NBA franchise in his new documentary, We The North: From Prehistoric to Historic.Published Mar 14, 2025 • 3 minute readToronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry celerates during the 2019 Toronto Raptors Championship parade in Toronto on Monday, June 17, 2019. Photo by Frank Gunn /THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle contentSami Khan, an Oscar-nominated director from Sarnia, tells the story of Toronto’s NBA franchise in his new documentary, We The North: From Prehistoric to Historic.Advertisement 2Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentStreaming on Crave, the film about the first three decades of the Toronto Raptors also airs Monday on TSN.Kahn said he and producer Vinay Virmani talked for years about working together and, after a few projects didn’t pan out, “this one just came together really quickly last fall.”It’s the Raptors 30th season since launching in Toronto in 1995 and the team, along with NBA Canada and Bell, “were looking to do a documentary that captured the story” and “the team’s impact on Canadian culture,” Khan said. We The North: From Prehistoric to Historic, a new documentary by Sarnia director Sami Khan is streaming on Crave. Khan poses with Raptors president Masai Ujiri and producer Vinay Virmani. (Handout) HandoutAlong with an Academy Award nomination for his documentary, St. Louis Superman, Khan won an Emmy for his baseball documentary, The Last Out, and recently has been part of the Netflix basketball series Starting Five.Advertisement 3Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article contentThe timeline for the Raptors documentary “was kind of crazy” but Khan said he and Virmani decided they were well placed to tell the story.Growing up in Sarnia in the 1990s, Khan was a fan of the Detroit Pistons when the Raptors arrived in Toronto.“I was really thrilled,” Khan said. “Especially in those early years of the team, the Raptors made a point about reaching out to communities that weren’t necessarily being served by mainstream sports in Canada.”Founder John Bitove had a vision about what the Raptors and basketball could be in Canada, Khan said.“He was really ahead of his time,” Khan said. “He was reaching out to kids, to women, to immigrants” and “really planted the seeds that blossomed when the Raptors won in 2019.”Advertisement 4Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article contentThere were naysayers early on.“We get into that in the doc,” including comments from a stockbroker in 1995 predicting the team wouldn’t last, Khan said.When the other Canadian team, the Grizzlies, left Vancouver for the U.S. in 2001, “it looked like only a matter of time before the Raptors would leave as well,” he said. Promotional image from We The North: From Prehistoric to Historic, a new documentary by Sarnia director Sami Khan. (Handout) HandoutWhile he had “complicated history” playing in Toronto beginning in 1998, “you can’t deny the fact that Vince Carter saved the Toronto Raptors,” Khan said.“He really brought an energy and excitement for the team that wasn’t there” before.Carter was the top vote-getter at the 2000 All Star game where he had “that iconic slam dunk competition,” Khan said. “That was when, I think, people realized the potential of a basketball team in Canada and how much it would resonate.”Advertisement 5Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article contentKhan said they were able to dive into “a gold mine” of archival footage from Bell, which owns TSN, and the NBA to create a documentary balanced between telling the story of the franchise and its fanbase.“The drama of the franchise dovetails with the impact on the fanbase” and on culture beyond the court, including the city’s nightlife and club scene, he said.“I’m old enough to remember Toronto was kind of a stuffy town,” Khan said.Carter and other Raptor players helped change that, he said.“Now, when you talk to NBA players, Toronto is their favourite city to go to in the whole NBA,” Khan said.Sports documentaries are “kind of my wheelhouse right now,” he said.“There’s an appetite for sports docs” and Canada has the documentary-making talent to compete globally, Khan said.“There are so many sports stories in Canada. I’m excited about the potential. Hopefully, Canada can get into that game.”pmorden@postmedia.comArticle contentShare this article in your social networkComments Join the Conversation Featured Local Savings