*(Via Deadline) – Two years ago, Kobe Bryant took the stage at the Academy Awards to accept, alongside Glen Keane, the Best Animated Short Film award for “Dear Basketball.” The Oscar win for his personal project came less than a year after the NBA great had retired from the sport.
Tonight, another former professional athlete who segued to an entertainment career, former NFL player Matthew A. Cherry, accepted the Best Animated Short Film Oscar for a personal project, “Hair Love.” In his speech, Cherry dedicated the award to Bryant, who died tragically two weeks ago.
“This award is dedicated to Kobe Bryant,” said Cherry who also paid tribute to Bryant at pre-Oscar events. “May we all have a second act as great as his was.”
“Hair Love,” voiced by Issa Rae, follows an African-American father’s first attempt to do his daughter’s hair. It stems from Cherry’s desire to promote hair love among young people of color. Like Cherry’s features “9 Rides” and “The Last Fall,” “Hair Love” originated with a Kickstarter campaign in 2017.
Get the rest of this Oscar story on “Hair Love”/Kobe Bryant at Deadline.
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