Hardwood (2005)

A film about the director's relationship with his father who was a team member of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Director:

Hubert Davis

Writer:

Hubert Davis

Stars:

Mel Davis, Aaron Dudley

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mel Davis	...	Himself
Aaron Dudley	...	Friend

Storyline

Hubert Davis examines the life decisions made by his father, Mel, and how they affected his life. Mel, a former Harlem Globetrotter, was a married father of one when he fell in love and had a child with a white woman. The strain of living a double life finally comes to a head when he leaves his wife for his lover and joins her and their son in Vancouver, Canada. The young Hubert grows up to be the filmmaker who creates Hardwood. The film is a heart-wrenching look at the impact of fatherless families and the social and emotional impact of the absentee African-American father. Davis manages to unite his family by interviewing his own parents, his brother, and his brother's biological mother. The film is elegantly divide into three chapters that address love, betrayal and redemption.

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Plot Keywords:

harlem globetrotters | interracial relationship | basketball | interracial romance | father son relationship

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Genres:

Documentary | Short

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS [United States]

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 2005 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

29 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005)

User Reviews

Moving Piece

This documentary tells the story of Hubert Davis, the son of a legendary Harlem Globetrotters player, Mel Davis. Mel goes around the world, and tries to juggle his life and time with his families. Hubert tries to set out to reconcile issues between his father and estranged family, but really ends up examining how his father affected his own life. This is a very touching and emotional story of mending relationships, and unconditional family love, and I think that a documentary was the only way to achieve that. It helped to show the reality of family life, and humanity within the characters. I found the film very visually pleasing and along with the chapter breaks, the piece had very good pacing. Although it was a short piece, it had just enough in it to stay relevant, and didn't really need to stretch it out any more.