hardwood ( film )
urltoken trailer for the film
hardwood
was accepted into
on the lot
. the film is now complete and playing film festivals .
since the film' s premiere at hot docs 2004, hardwood has garnered multiple awards and international critical acclaim. the film has screened at over 20 films festivals throughout canada and the us .
awards for hardwood include best documentary at the world wide short film festival, best short documentary at the big sky documentary film festival, jury' s choice award at the black maria film + video festival and four awards at the yorkton short film and video festival (including a craft award for best (non - dramatic) direction and the coveted golden sheaf of excellence award for the top film of 2004) .
hardwood
was also part of last year' s official selection at the infact film series in los angeles .
davis’s first film, hardwood, was nominated for an academy award for best short documentary. he received the don haig award at the hot docs festival for invisible city. davis also directed the short film aruba, the 2016 doc giants of africa and most recently the documentary short rivolta .
a film about the director' s relationship with his father who was a team member of the harlem globetrotters .
the film also features never - seen - before dramatic archival material discovered in private and public archives in israel and europe .
hardwood became a reality for me in 2000 when i read hubert' s first funding proposal. it was seven oversized pages, each with a black and white photo or two and a few lines written beneath, describing the film. hubert' s proposal was simple, elegant and poignant, so reflective of his completed film. all through the process of making
hardwood ,
hubert kept me involved. he asked me for feedback on what he wrote, got me to set up shoots in vancouver and chicago and research archival footage, and then he sent me rough cuts as he went through the process of editing
hardwood .
as a retired documentary filmmaker, i was deeply honored my son asked me to work on his first film .
currently on tour throughout the us with the film, brody explained how the unrehearsed words he spoke from the heart upon beating the soviets are about much more than just basketball. his “on the map” phrase entered the israeli vernacular because it resonated far beyond the hardwood court .
hardwood began as an opportunity for me to support my brother hubert in his dream of becoming a filmmaker. the
hardwood experience ,
as i have now begun to affectionately describe the process of participating in the making and showing of hardwood, has been therapeutic and enlightening. as i contemplated organizing public showings of hardwood in atlanta, a close friend and mentor told me that
our people (black) need this; if one person decides to reconnect with their family, then sharing your family' s story will be worth it .
he was right !
read the full text of the poem » he shares in the film ,
there are some things i had to figure out .
‘the film reflects a period of history that is still with so many israelis as they go to sleep and wake up every day. it’s something they tell their kids and grandkids about’
as a human and civil rights activist for over a decade i have never experienced more
intimate public discussions
than the ones that hubert and i engaged in after we premiered hardwood in atlanta community settings. sons, mothers, fathers and daughters openly cried in describing how they
needed this
because now they can talk about what has happened in their own families. there is a universal message that hardwood offers to families of all races. but in a time when 70 percent of african - american children are born out of wedlock, and are twice as likely as white children to experience divorce, hardwood can become a powerful tool in the process of reconnecting and repairing our communities, family by family .
while the surprise 1977 victory and brody’s remarks are legendary among israelis of all ages, this astounding sporting accomplishment is little known across the atlantic. menkin, a lifelong maccabi tel aviv fan, decided it was time that americans became familiar with this miracle on hardwood .
menkin originally made a film about the story for israeli television, but realized after meeting executive producers nancy spielberg and roberta grossman — the team behind “above and beyond” — that there could be a possibility of expanding it into a feature aimed at american audiences .
i am currently living in toronto with my wife. i have recently completed production on my second short film, a drama called aruba, under the banner of my production company, shine. i also have a documentary in development called the invisible city about racial profiling .
hardwood is a personal journey by director hubert davis, the son of former harlem globetrotter mel davis, who explores how his father' s decisions affected his life and those of his extended family. elegantly structured into three chapters entitled
love ,
recollection
and
redemption ,
davis uses personal interviews, archival footage and home movies to delve into his father' s past in the hope of finding a new direction for his own. at its core, hardwood is about the power of redemption and the healing of the bonds between fathers and sons .
obviously, the highlight of the year was when hardwood was nominated for an academy award in 2005 for best documentary short subject. the best part of the experience was being able to share it with my family, who joined my wife kelly and me on the red carpet. i think the honor of being nominated was very validating for my family in having the courage to tell our story. the whole experience has brought me closer to my family and has given me a better insight into them as people. making hardwood has taught me so much about myself and has been the most rewarding professional experience of my life .
“the film reflects a period of history that is still with so many israelis as they go to sleep and wake up every day. it’s something they tell their kids and grandkids about. so much has happened in the world since then, but israel has stood strong throughout, ” brody said .
menkin is pleased with the release of “on the map” just in time for the 40th anniversary of the game - changing championship. but more importantly, he is happy that he was able to get the film done while most of the former players are still able to recount their experiences for the camera .
“above and beyond, ” is a 2014 film about american and other foreign former wwii airmen who volunteered to fight for israel in the 1948 war of independence and contribute to the nascent israeli air force. menkin saw a parallel in the maccabi team that won the european championship. it consisted mainly of american players recruited to elevate the team’s playing .
hardwood was presented to me as a request to participate in a project that would help bring closure to our family regarding the past. i was reluctant at first, not eager to relive the events that caused me so much pain and anguish, but i agreed after much urging from my son, mawuli. i hoped that this would finally put the matter to rest .
in addition to brody, menkin got the full participation of the other surviving american - born members of the 1976 - 1977 maccabi tel aviv team, many of whom played numerous seasons with the team and ended up settling in israel and marrying israeli women. the film also features interviews with israeli former maccabi tel aviv star miki berkovich, former nba commissioner david stern, and american basketball icon bill walton, among others .
as for me, i recently celebrated my tenth wedding anniversary with my wife, jana, and our two sons kobie (7) and khari (5) by renewing our vows on a cruise with family and friends. we now live in atlanta, georgia, where i have my own law practice, mawuli davis & associates. i am currently the co - chair of the atlanta chapter of the national coalition of blacks for reparations in america (n' cobra) and of the state bar of georgia young lawyers division' s minorities in the profession committee. i have been a youth basketball coach for both of my sons' basketball teams for the last four years. i am looking forward to continuing to facilitate community discussions about the
hardwood experience
with the hope that every family will find the courage to tell their story, and as hubert states in hardwood ,
forever change the pattern
of their lives .
participating in hardwood on a personal level was also rewarding. answering hubert' s questions as he delved into our past allowed me to go where i hadn' t been in a very long time — to the beginning of my relationship with his father, when i was so very young. a time filled with joy and pain. i wanted hubert to know why i made the decisions i did in my life and his sensitive face showed he understood, and that comforted me. it is deeply gratifying now to witness how hubert' s touching and honest story of our family is inspiring others to re - examine their family' s relationships .
i' m often asked how i feel about my life being exposed in hardwood. my life has always been an open book. friends and family met mel in vancouver in the 60s. they knew i visited him on the road through the years. and everyone knew mel was married when i was pregnant with hubert. mel asked me to have his child and i said yes. it wasn' t an easy decision to defend. my only regret was hurting mary etta. as the years passed i tried to talk myself out of my relationship with mel, to no avail. mel was my rock. one of the happiest days of my life was the day i married mel, 25 years after i met him .
some parts of this page won' t work property. please reload or try later .
buzzing comedies such as the spy who dumped me await you in our summer movie guide. check in for all the info you need .
want to share imdb' s rating on your own site? use the html below .
with jurassic world: fallen kingdom now in cinemas, we take a look at how imdb users rated the films of the franchise. plus, browse exclusive lego® jurassic world playsets, presented by lego .
enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with prime video .
svg public
- / / w3c / / dtd svg 1. 1 / / en
urltoken
mel is my steady companion and best friend now. i support him as he works with young people, teaching them about life through basketball. i visit family and friends. my passion is the natural world around me and i try to spend a few hours of each day just enjoying it. any spare time is divided between working to save a small
nature
park in vancouver and writing a book with mary etta exploring our parallel lives with mel .
i found that, while talking about the events that happened 20 years ago, i was still connected to the past by the present and the future. reliving those years has brought me to an understanding of a history that began long before my failed marriage. in telling the story, i was forced to relive it, reexamine it and experience it from a different perspective. many things i did not know were revealed and the origin of certain behaviors were made understandable .
if, by telling my story and that of my family — and i mean my extended family although it' s not the
traditional
family — perhaps other families can face their past and move ahead to the future .
i am now a retired public school teacher and catholic school principal, living a life filled with children, grandchildren, volunteerism, church and other activities. i have no regrets about the past, because if it had been any different, i would not be who i am today and i would not have my son and grandchildren... my family .
harry and the hendersons official trailer # 1 - m. emmet walsh movie (1987) hd
davis, a member of the legendary harlem globetrotters, had two families — one in chicago and one in vancouver. his canadian son, hubert, takes a personal look at his father’s life. nominated for an oscar .
jude (leblanc) is a nurse and single mom struggling with health issues while trying to raise her son, ciel (gordon) .
renee ghert - zand is a reporter and feature writer for the times of israel .
miki berkovich (left) and tal brody after final game against varese, april 1977. (shmuel rahmani )
‘s earliest memories is being taken by his father out into the streets of tel aviv on february 17, 1977. there they joined the huge crowds celebrating the
basketball team’s victory against cska (red army moscow) in the semi - finals of the european championship. menkin, who was seven at the time, was one of 150, 000 ecstatic revelers crammed that night into what is now rabin square .
menkin, now 46, has never forgotten that euphoric moment and was recently compelled to memorialize it through his new documentary, “on the map. ”
it was an israel from a bygone era. in a deep economic recession, the country was still reeling from the yom kippur war and the 1972 munich olympic massacre of israeli athletes by palestinian terrorists. the cold war was raging, and young israel was boycotted and ostracized by much of the world .
maccabi tel aviv’s against - all - odds defeat of an enemy superpower’s mighty team electrified the nation. this was the same soviet team that (controversially) beat the heretofore undefeated us team at the 1972 munich olympics leading no one to bet on maccabi .
in a post - game interview, maccabi tel aviv’s american - born team captain tal brody conveyed the nation’s mood and aspirations. “we are on the map, and we are going to stay on the map — not just in sports, but in everything! ” he exclaimed exuberantly in broken hebrew .
less than two months later, in a slim one - point victory, maccabi tel aviv beat the highly favored italian champions mobilgirgi varese in belgrade, yugoslavia, to win the european cup finals. (the el al plane that brought the israeli players to the match required special permission to land in yugoslavia, which did not have diplomatic relations with israel. )
israelis celebrate in the streets of tel aviv after maccabi tel aviv’s victory over cska moscow, february 1977. (shmuel rahmani )
it was a turning point for israeli basketball, and israeli sports in general. since then, maccabi has made it all the way to another 17 european championship final games and won five of them .
“americans all know about the ‘miracle on ice’ – the unexpected us victory over the ussr in hockey at the 1980 olympics, but they don’t know about the amazing thing that maccabi tel aviv did just three years earlier, ” menkin told the times of israel from los angeles, where he is now based .
brody, from trenton, new jersey, had come to israel in 1965 to play in the maccabiah games. asked by moshe dayan and others to stay for at least a year to play with maccabi tel aviv, brody — picked 12th in that year’s nba draft by the baltimore bullets — decided to give up a career in the nba to play in israel .
“after that first year, i was sold, ” brody told the times of israel by phone from his home in tel aviv about his decision to stay on long term in israel .
he ended up leaving for a couple of years when he was drafted for us military service, but returned and made aliya to israel in 1970. (he also served in the idf. )
maccabi tel aviv 1977 european champions reunite. back row: moti aresti, lou silver, aulcie perry, shuki schwartz; front row: miki berkovich, tal brody, aryeh davidesco, ruti klein (widow of coach ralph klein). (avner gera )
“we found footage shot behind the scenes at the games, which was really unusual for the 1970s, ” menkin noted .
“with [ coach ] ralph klein and [ player ] jim boatwright having passed away, i knew that we had to get moving on this project, ” the director said .
brody, who is now a goodwill ambassador for israel, is confident that american audiences introduced now to this amazing sports story will appreciate it as much as israelis who experienced the thrill of victory four decades ago .
“on the map” opens in los angeles on november 25 and in new york on december 9 .
i got over my blind allegiance, and now stick by israel' s side, through thick and thin .
you hereby accept the times of israel terms of use and privacy policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from the times of israel and its partners or ad sponsors.
hardwood is a 2005 short documentary film about canadian director hubert davis ' relationship to his father , former harlem globetrotters member mel davis . through interviews with his mother , his father 's wife , his half-brother , and mel davis himself , hubert davis explores why mel made the decisions that he did , and how that has affected his life . hardwood was met with high critical acclaim and received an academy award for documentary short subject nomination . it also aired on pbs as part of its point of view series in 2005 . 
hardwood is a 2005 short documentary film about canadian director hubert davis' relationship to his father, former harlem globetrotters member mel davis. through interviews with his mother, his father's wife, his half-brother, and mel davis himself, hubert davis explores why mel made the decisions that he did, and how that has affected his life. hardwood was met with high critical acclaim and received an academy award for documentary short subject nomination. it also aired on pbs as part of its point of view series in 2005.
hardwood is a 2005 short documentary film about canadian director hubert davis' relationship to his father, former harlem globetrotters member mel davis. through interviews with his mother, his father's wife, his half-brother, and mel davis himself, hubert davis explores why mel made the decisions that he did, and how that has affected his life. hardwood was met with high critical acclaim and received an academy award for documentary short subject nomination. it also aired on pbs as part of its point of view series in 2005.