Mission Hill documentary to debut

The diverging paths of two Mission Hill basketball-playing brothers are the centerpiece of a documentary, “The Mission,” set to debut next month.

Focusing on two brothers who grew up in Mission Hill, Wayne and Baron “Tiny” Turner, “The Mission” covers the divergent paths they took from their old neighborhood. The premiere will take place March 6 at Blackman Auditorium at Northeastern University.

Wayne was named Mr. Basketball in Massachusetts and a McDonald’s All-American player, was a two-time national champion at the University of Kentucky, and played a professional basketball career in both the NBA and overseas before returning to Kentucky to finish his undergraduate degree.

Baron, a player with just as much talent and promise, left Mission Hill’s courts and community centers for the prison basketball leagues of the Massachusetts correctional system.

“The Mission” director Brian Culkin previously told the Gazette that the film is bigger than just the two brothers.

“They’re representing this dichotomy that seems to have developed in the basketball culture of Mission Hill,” he told the Gazette in August.

Culkin, himself a former Mission Hill resident, used to play basketball with Baron while in high school.

The film will include new and archival footage, including interviews with the brothers and other Mission Hill locals, including Gazette columnist Maurice “Mossy” Martin, to explain the neighborhood’s history and why these two brothers exemplify it so well.

Venue and ticket information is available at northeastern.edu/eventvenues/blackman.The film’s website is themissiondocumentary.com.

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