Kobe Bryant was a trailblazing presence both on and off the basketball court. In 2018, the five-time NBA Finals champion became the first former professional athlete to earn an Oscar nomination. His short film “Dear Basketball” also made him the first former professional athlete to win an Oscar.
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Matthew A. Cherry followed in Bryant’s footsteps a year later. His 2019 production “Hair Love” won the same Oscar – Best Animated Short Film – as “Dear Basketball.”
The former NFL player didn’t reach Bryant’s heights as an athlete. In the aftermath of the 2004 NFL draft, Cherry embarked on a journey as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, his initial stint was short-lived, as he was waived during the final roster cuts.
Undeterred, Cherry was given a second chance when he was re-signed to the Jaguars’ practice squad. However, Cherry never appeared in a regular season NFL game. But Bryant’s “Mamba Mentality” helped him to pivot and inspired him to pursue his film career.
“We wanted to see more representation in animation. We wanted to normalize black hair… this award is dedicated to Kobe Bryant. May we all have a second act as great as his was,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Cherry’s film centered on “positivity… when it comes to dads and their daughters and their hair” as he wanted to “shine a spotlight on black fathers” because they “so often get [a] negative portrayal in mainstream media.” According to Cherry, at the time he began creating the film (2017), “only three animated movies had featured black protagonists.”
Cherry followed up his unique angle with an equally distinctive fundraising method. He created a Kickstarter campaign with the intention of raising $75,000. Through social media efforts, he raked in more than $300,000. He told Trevor Noah on The Daily Show in 2020 that his idea was two-pronged.
“[Crowdfunding is] a really good way as a filmmaker to kind of build an audience before you go to market… [I already] had this test data with the viral videos. Like, clearly people were already into it… it was just something I had a really good feeling that would connect to audiences. And it just took off like crazy.”
Much like Bryant routinely did on the court, Cherry executed his plan to perfection. And the results, like Bryant’s, were undeniable. He’ll forever be an Oscar winner. And in that realm, despite their drastically different athletic careers, Cherry will always be Bryant’s equal.
