Andscape, the Black-led media platform owned by The Walt Disney Company, has acquired “Hoops, Hopes & Dreams,” a short documentary that premiered at Sundance Film Festival. It also received the best documentary short award at the 2025 Cleveland International Film Festival.
Directed by artist and filmmaker Glenn Kaino (“With Drawn Arms”), the film shares the story of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a team of civil rights activists utilized the basketball court to engage young voters, win hearts and shape community outreach strategies. Many of the same methods resonate in contemporary politics and were used in President Obama’s campaigns.
Andscape said the film moves “beyond the familiar Civil Rights narrative of pain and protest” and “shifts focus to the strength found in joy and community — revealing how basketball became a powerful force for unity, empowerment and lasting change.”
The film blends historical footage, animation and interviews with ambassador Andrew Young, a close aide to Dr. King, NBA legend Jerry West, journalist Jemele Hill, Executive Vice President of The Obama Foundation Michael Strautmanis and Reginald L. Love, a former Duke basketball player and personal aide to Obama.
“’Hoops, Hopes & Dreams’ is a story about movement making, and meeting people where they are,” Kaino said in a statement. “It’s about understanding and connecting to our heroes at our level but also painting a pathway for us to aspire to be as great as them.”
Producers of the film include Alexys Feaster, Kaino and Jesse Williams for Visibility, a values-driven collective using storytelling across film, gaming, and creative media. Afshin Shahidi also produced along with Michael Latt, who for years with his firm Lead With Love focused on elevating Black creatives and other underrepresented voices in Hollywood. As the company’s founder, the late Latt prioritized fostering meaningful connections between audiences and projects rooted in empathy, inclusion and social responsibility.
“Our son Michael Latt, together with director and producer Glenn Kaino, embraced Hoops, Hopes & Dreams as a story of positivity, resilience, and the power of community, something the world has always needed. If Michael were here, he would join in celebrating this partnership with Andscape as the kind of collaboration he believed in: using the universal language of sports to bring people together and highlight how shared experiences can build lasting connection and unity,” said Michael’s family, Michelle Satter, David Latt, and Franklin Latt in a statement.
