”The Queen of Basketball” with Ben Proudfoot

Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

It starts like a modern day fairy tale: from the cotton fields of Mississippi, to three national collegiate championships, to scoring the first basket in Olympic history. But despite all her plaudits, when all that had passed, Lusia Mae (Lucy) Harrison felt she could pursue the game no further. In his Oscar-nominated short, “The Queen of Basketball,” director Ben Proudfoot (nominated just last year for “A Concerto is a Conversation”) puts Lucy front and center to tell her own story, while he skillfully illustrates it with both a compelling contemporary portrait as well as well-chosen archival footage. It’s a story of pride–both for her career and her for her family of 4 outstanding children–but also one of athletic potential halted in its path.

Join Mike as he and Ben explore the history behind both Lucy’s life and women’s basketball, as well as the choices Ben made in creating this engaging film. And then watch “The Queen of Basketball” on the New York Times site or on YouTube!

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