'Undefeated' Sneak Peek Champions the Best Documentary Oscar Contender (Exclusive Video)

Don Cheadle, P. Diddy and Serena Williams are among the celebrities who championed the documentary, about a struggling inner-city football team.

2:38 PM PST 2/15/2012 by Scott Feinberg

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I'm very pleased to debut an exclusive clip for "The Race" readers from Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin's Undefeated. A nominee for the Best Documentary (Feature) Oscar, it could become the first sports-centric film to take home that prize since When We Were Kings scored it 15 years ago.

Undefeated Trailer

Undefeated: Toronto Film Review

PHOTOS: Academy Awards 2012: The Nominees

The film, which The Weinstein Company is releasing in select theaters on February 17, chronicles the highs and lows of the 2010 football season for the Manassas Tigers, a high-school team from a poor inner-city town in Memphis playing under the tutelage of devoted coach Bill Courtney.

It powerfully captures the way in which sports can help people transcend boundaries of age, race, and economic status, and be their best selves, to paraphrase Oprah Winfrey.

VIDEO: Undefeated Trailer

The film premiered at the South by Southest Film Festival in March 2011, and has since been championed by a number of high-profile celebrities, many of whom have hosted screenings to raise awareness. Among its champions are Don Cheadle, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Antoine Fuqua, Donald Sutherland, and Serena Williams.