It’s a small, independent documentary about inter-city playground basketball. And it was shot in Albany, NY, not far from where I live. But “Ballin’ at the Graveyard” is much more than simply a sports film. It’s an honest look at the men who spend every weekend a local park to play, most of them for years, and how the game and the relationships they’ve developed, have impacted, especially off the court.
The first part of the film is all about the game. We learn the rules these guys play by, see the physical action and hear some real, R-rated dialogue. This is a slice urban life that most people who watch this film will not have experienced before. The interaction between the players and the strong desire to win comes through clearly. Newcomers to the court are welcome (including white players) but they will be tested and have to earn their chance to play. And once you get into a game you better win because one of the reasons they called this court (in Albany’s Washington Park) The Graveyard is because once your team loses you might as well be dead because you’re not getting another shot to play that day.
The middle portion of the movie is the strongest. After getting to know about the key characters and their on-court personalities in the first half, the film turns personal – with one and one interviews in which we hear of their struggles growing-up – poverty, loss of parents, criminal activity – and how they overcame these challenges to become productive and successful memebrs of their communities. We also learn how their dreams of playing big-time basketball never came true, but how the game still means everything to them.
The authentic interviews are inspiring, and the end of the film we see how each of these men spend their Monday-Fridays – doing their best to be leaders for the next generation, again, both on and off the court.
“Ballin’ at the Graveyard” is directed by Basil Anastassiou and Paul Kentoffio. Basil is also the interviewer and we hear from him often throughout. The stories are well told and the film is mostly well shot and edited. You do not have to live in Upstate NY or be a diehard basketball fan (or a basketball fan at all), to be impacted by this film.
So far, “Ballin’ at the Graveyard” is only being shown in Albany, but hopefully it will expand wider soon, so that more people get the chance to experience this simple, but affective documentary.