"Traveling the world, finding the best global sports stories about amateur athletes. That's what the new Rise Above documentary series by Jordan does." Check out the first film after the jump...

"In the first installment, the filmmakers travel to Iraq to meet 20-year-old Laylan, who stars on an all-female basketball team at the American University of Iraq Sulaimani. The significance? Because of the long history of gender inequality in Laylan's home country. Men interviewed on camera say the believe a woman's role is in the home, yet in spite of the cultural divide, Leylan and her teammates are pursuing a passion, learning empowerment and camaraderie as they go.

They show that, in the end, they are trying to Rise Above." -- Amy K. Nelson, SB Nation, Senior Correspondent