Buckets City

Buckets City is a coming-of-age short film centered on streetball. It is partially a homage to White Men Can't Jump, and inspired by a lifetime of me playing pickup ball from Queens, New York, to Southern California, to Cavite in the Philippines, all places I lived, blended into this short. It seeks to capture the fun vibe of an afternoon playing basketball in a park in the 90s, with hip hop, backwards caps, loud colored clothes, and trash talk.

But its about other things as well. Its kind of about letting go of ego, overcoming past traumas, and realizing that sometimes your achievements are not about what others think of you. This is all wrapped up in a comedic cartoon, but they're also things I've learned playing pickup basketball over the years, and something I wanted to integrate into this short.

I've been working on this on and off for around 10 years, 95% of it done by myself, with a budget of 0 dollars. I've had invaluable contributions from Kyle Blanton Ross, who did the music and sound effects, and my brother Warren, who did some coloring and cg modeling, who often played ball with me over the years. Its been a bit of a labor of love, and I hope you enjoy it.