Hubert Davis' Oscar-nominated short film "Hardwood" started out as a documentary about his father, Mel, who played with the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1960s and '70s, but Davis soon found that "I couldn't tell his story without telling my own, [and] I couldn't tell my own story without telling my family's." The film is a documentary of a family reunion of sorts, as family members reflect on their lives together, and apart.
Mel Davis fathered Hubert with a white woman in the 1960s, and later married another woman with whom he had second son. The two brothers would not meet for years, but when they did, there was an immediate familial connection. And while Hubert and his brother still remember the times when Mel Davis was absentee, or abusive, Mel has apparently made amends with his sons, and the film ends on a note of reconciliation. "Hardwood" contains some genuinely touching moments, and emphasizes a father's importance in his child's life.
