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About the film

“You can be anything you want”   

Home and Away is about the relationships between fathers and sons, and about outsiders putting down roots in Finnish society. Shawn Huff and Ervin Latimer Jr. are the children of two African-American basketball players -- Leon Huff and Ervin Latimer Sr. -- who moved to Finland in the 1970s. The fathers handed down their legacy of perseverance, ambition and resistance to racism, and the sons have now grown up to become Finnish social and political influencers. The sons channel the experiences of the silent fathers and transform those experiences into action, and both generations fight for a more equal world. 

Ervin Latimer  1. Ervin Latimer Sr Ari Virem

Ervin Latimer Sr. was born in 1952 in California, United States. He spent his childhood and school years in Carolina, where he played for the basketball team of Erskine College in Southern Carolina. Subsequently, Erskine College has inducted Latimer into their Hall of Fame. Instead of pursuing an NBA career, in 1974 Ervin came to Finland to play basketball in the team of Tampere Pyrintö. Latimer has won the Finnish Basketball League's scoring title and the Finnish Championship (SM-gold) with the team Honka. Latimer also won the Finnish Championship silver (SM-silver) and the Finnish Cup with the team Pantterit (Panthers). Alongside his successful basketball career, Latimer Sr. introduced Corn Dogs to Finland and since then has established several restaurants, coffee shops and food stands in both Helsinki and Tallinn.

Leon Huff  12. Leon Huff Hannu Pekka Vitikainen

Leon Huff was born in 1950 in Illinois, United States. Huff grew up in modest circumstances, but as a talented player he managed to succeed in life and studies with the help of basketball. During his student years Leon played for Drake University, one of the leading college basketball teams at the time, and was the top scorer and rebounder in his team. Drake University recently named Huff to their All-Decade team for the 1970s.

In 1975, Huff ended up to play basketball in Finland, where he became known for his impressive blocks and dunks. He played a total of 12 seasons in the Finnish Basketball League for three different teams, won the Finnish national championship twice and the bronze medal once. After his career as a player, Huff remained in Finland working creditably as a coach and in the IT industry.

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Ervin Latimer Jr  7. Ervin Latimer Jr Sandra Enkvist

Ervin Latimer Jr is a young super-talented fashion designer and Drag Queen artist. He was also a talented basketball player, but art took him on a different path. He has rapidly achieved success in his fashion design career through his own brand, Latimmier. In the fall of 2020, he was awarded Young Designer of the Year. Latimer Jr also performs drag queen shows as Anna Konda. Latimer has been working for queer culture in Finland, being involved in organizing events, especially for the LGBTQ+ and community of color. 

Shawn Huff  13. Shawn Huff Hannu Pekka Vitikainen

Shawn Huff is a former captain of the Finnish national basketball team, Susijengi. He served in that role for seven years and led his team to the EuroBasket quarter-finals in 2022. During his career, Huff has played in the United States college league for Valparaiso University, where he also studied sociology and criminology. He has also played as a professional in Italy, Germany, and France's top leagues. In Finland, in addition to the national team, Huff played for Torpan Pojat, Tapiolan Honka, and Helsinki Seagulls winning two Finnish championships. Huff is the Finnish player who has played the second most national team matches, and the 7th most points in them. He currently serves as a city councilor as a member of The Helsinki Greens party. Huff is the first multicultural captain in the history of Finnish team sports.