Your dad issues don't need a documentary, but Maxwell's deserve your attention.
In the heart of Watts, a beloved neighborhood legend named Maxwell seeks redemption as a father after a lifetime of using basketball to mask his pain. Once a symbol of hope for his community, Maxwell now faces the quiet collapse of his past glory, haunted by memories that blur triumph with trauma. As the neighborhood around him changes and his eldest son unexpectedly moves in, Maxwell is forced to confront the man he's become and the father he wants to be. Guided by the same community that once cheered him on, GOOD SHOT is an affecting portrait of a man learning that showing up, even imperfectly, can be its own kind of victory.
Direction
Debeij lets Maxwell's silences speak louder than any narration could.
Cinematography
Watts itself becomes a character—vibrant, wounded, defiantly alive.
Director
Joris Debeij
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Joris Debeij spent three years embedded in Watts before filming, initially documenting the neighborhood's basketball culture before Maxwell's story emerged organically.
The film's verité style deliberately echoes Hoop Dreams, but centers Black fatherhood rather than athletic ambition—part of a recent wave re-examining sports docs through familial trauma.
US
