The Doin’ It in the Park streetball documentary and its international popularity has been extensively chronicled on our website. But just in case you still haven’t gotten the chance to see this incredible film, you’ll have an opportunity to do so next week when it premieres on American television. Here is the official release:
Season six of the public television program “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange” kicks off on Monday, January 13 at 8 pm ET/10 pm PT with “Doin’ It in the Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC,” the award-winning film about the vibrant subculture of outdoor basketball that inspired a worldwide phenomenon. “AfroPop” is an innovative documentary series consisting of independent films on contemporary life, art and pop culture across the African Diaspora. Hosted by acclaimed actor Anthony Mackie, “AfroPop” runs weekly on the WORLD Channel on Mondays through February 10. “The series is produced by National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) and co-presented by American Public Television (APT). Along with the WORLD Channel airings, APT will distribute “AfroPoP” to additional public television stations in February 2014.
For their debut documentary, directors and pick-up basketball crusaders Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau visited 180 courts throughout New York City interviewing playground legends, NBA athletes and the everyday player, bicycling it to most parks with camera equipment and a ball in their backpacks. Co-presented by Latino Public Broadcasting, “Doin’ it in the Park” captures the unbridled passion of those who live for the raw energy of the game. Among the film’s numerous awards are the Audience Award for Best Feature 2012 Urbanworld Film Festival and Best Documentary at 2012 New Jersey International Film Festival.
The series continues with “Upaj: Improvise” by Hoku Uchiyama, co-presented by the Center for Asian American Media, which captures the fascinating artistic collaboration of dancers from two different worlds (January 20); “War Don Don” (“The War Is Over”) by Rebecca Richman Cohen, on the U.N. special court trial of senior rebel leader Issa Sesay for his role in Sierra Leone’s 10-year conflict (January 27); “Stories from Lakka Beach,” by Daan Veldhuizen, consisting of the engaging tales of a colorful mix of villagers in the post-conflict nation of Sierra Leone (February 3); and “Boys of Summer” by Keith Aumont, about young ballplayers on the Caribbean island of Curaçao vying to make it to the Little League World Series for the eighth year in a row (February 10).
For more information on “AfroPoP,” visit www.blackpublicmedia.org. To find out when and where to watch, including additional air dates for each of the episodes, check your local listings or go to www.worldchannel.org.
