NBA Films for Fans created with OLG is a Toronto International Film Festival Special Event, featuring films created by fans for fans, in celebration of the NBA's landmark 75th anniversary season.
As part of the celebration, NBA.com will look at how the world of film and basketball world often intertwine, including a closer look at the five films set to premiere at the festival. After previewing the short film "Born Identities," and "Inheritance," we now take a look at "Shorty," directed by Romeo Candido.
Basketball is often associated with how tall you are, but height isn't always necessary to succeed in the sport.
There have been plenty of players in NBA history who stood in at 6-feet or smaller and still carved out very impressive careers, with players like Allen Iverson going on to become Hall of Famers.
In Romeo Candido's "Shorty," the point that height isn't everything gets magnified when a young girl quickly realizes that she is the shortest player at basketball tryouts.
In @romeocandido’s Shorty, a father gives his daughter a history lesson of the greatest short NBA players to illustrate that height isn’t all you need.
— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) September 7, 2021
Watch the #FilmsForFans trailer: pic.twitter.com/VJsTDoJUVf
After she comes home discouraged, her father gives her a history lesson on some of the all-time great short players in NBA history to motivate his daughter to stick with her favourite sport.
The above trailer highlights players like Iverson, Muggsy Bogues, Spud Webb, and, of course, Toronto Raptors' great Damon Stoudamire. The girl is also seen wearing a Fred VanVleet jersey when practicing at the park – a modern-day touch on one of the best undersized players in the NBA today.
Starring a real-life father and daughter team, "Shorty" is a film that speaks to the dreamer in all of us.
Candido is an award-winning director and writer, taking home the Ishmael Bernal Award for Young Cinema at the Cinemanila International Film Festival in 2002 for his film "Lolo's Child." He also earned Best Non-Fiction Web Program/Series at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2020 for his documentary "Canada's a Drag."
Stick with NBA.com for more on the NBA Films for Fans that will soon debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
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