Devotional Cinema

The Long Game

A Film by Kate Fitzgerald  ·  ItFitzProductions

“I played professional basketball before the WNBA existed.
I watched our stories disappear.
I’m a filmmaker now, and I’m here to tell them.”

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About Kate Fitzgerald

Hall of Fame Athlete
Award-Winning Filmmaker

Kate Fitzgerald portrait
“The discipline of a professional athlete and the vision of a filmmaker are not so different. Both demand that you see the world as it could be and refuse to accept anything less.”
Kate Fitzgerald is a New York-based filmmaker, director, and former professional women’s basketball player from the pre-WNBA era. She played in the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) during the late 1970s and early 80s, a league that paved the way for the WNBA. This is the groundbreaking world her new film depicts.
After her playing career, Kate built a second life in the arts, performing in many theatrical productions and national commercial spots. She directed under All In One Productions, Red Thread Productions, and wrote, produced, and directed her debut feature, In Passing, which earned four major press reviews and a distribution deal with Netflix and Apple iTunes.
Now, she brings both worlds together in The Long Game, a film personal to her and the women she remembers.
Athlete
New Jersey 1st team All-State in college; All-Star in the Big Apple All-American Basketball Classic alongside future Olympians; Played pre-WNBA era for the New Jersey Gems and Minnesota Fillies in the first-ever women’s professional basketball league, the WBL; Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee for the WBL as a Trailblazer.
Stage
Various theatrical productions spanning two decades; reviewed in the NY Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and on CNN; Featured on The Rosie O’Donnell Show with a WNBA Hall of Fame women’s basketball player; PowerUP spokesperson, New York City.
Film
In Passing (2006) Written, produced, and directed by Kate Fitzgerald. Best Feature Film, NY LGBTQ+ Film Festival; Audience Favorite, AGliff. Distribution: Netflix + Apple iTunes.
Company
ItFitzProductions, an Independent Film Company dedicated to devotional cinema: stories told with craft, purpose, and truth from the inside out.
Now
Wrote The Long Game, the first major narrative film focused exclusively on women’s basketball.
Budget
$6M – In development, 2026/27.
The Project
The Long Game film poster

The Long Game

A Film by Kate Fitzgerald · 2026/27

“Two childhood basketball rivals, Riley and Sandy, strive to achieve their goals of playing in the Olympics and the first-ever women’s professional basketball league.”

Set in the defining decades before the WNBA existed, The Long Game follows two women who loved a game the world hadn’t fully discovered. It is a story of ambition, sacrifice, rivalry, and the quiet heroism of playing for nothing but the love of the sport.

Written and Executive Produced by Kate Fitzgerald, who played in this era, who knew these women, and who watched their stories disappear. Women’s basketball has been waiting forty years for a film of this nature to emerge.

A League of Their Own meets Love and Basketball

Production Status · In Development · 2026/27

$6M Target Budget
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Why Now

Measured Growth in Women’s Basketball

The figures below are drawn from public reporting and cited at the source. The Long Game is entering a dynamic market. We will update this section as The Long Game’s development progresses.
Attendance

+48%

WNBA attendance, 2024 season, highest total attendance in 22 years
Source: WNBA official season report, Sept 2024
Media Rights

$2.2B → $3.1B

11-year WNBA national media deal, since expanded with added broadcast partners
Source: The Athletic, 2024; Front Office Sports, 2026
Private Investment

$340M → $650M

Unrivaled 3x3 league valuation, September 2025 to August 2026
Source: Forbes, Front Office Sports, Aug 2026
Investment

Join the Story

The Long Game is one of the only films ever made exclusively about women’s basketball. Written and executive produced by a Hall of Fame athlete who lived the era, with a proven distribution track record including Netflix and Apple iTunes, this is a rare convergence of authentic storytelling and demonstrable filmmaking capability in the fastest-growing category in sports entertainment.

+48%

WNBA ATTENDANCE GROWTH
2024 SEASON

54M+

UNIQUE VIEWERS
2024 WNBA SEASON

$1B

FIRST WOMEN’S SPORTS TEAM VALUED AT $1B
GOLDEN STATE VALKYRIES, 2026

Sources: WNBA official season report (Sept 2024); CNBC team valuations (2026)

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Contact Kate Directly

Press & media inquiries: contact@aiveritai.com