Ashton Pina | In the Paint / 2017

telling the world

by Douglas Messerli

 

Ashton Pina (screenwriter and director) In the Paint / 2017 [7 minutes]

 

“In the paint” is a basketball term referring to the position in the court located under each basket (generally painted a different color of the rest of the court) in which the game sees most of its scoring action, and in which the game’s guards are most protective since most baskets are shot from this territory. Accordingly, it has also come to describe an aggressive position or effort in a challenging environment.

    In the particular case of the short film by Ashton Pina, it refers to the situation in which Kollin Martinez (Arjenise Ferreiras) currently finds himself as he is about to enter the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft.

    The film begins with Kollin and Tyrell Wilson (Tim Wardell) playing basketball on the edge of Venice Beach in Los Angeles. But we soon recognize that it is more than just a friendly skirmish. Tyrell is also about to be interviewed, even though Kollin is the true professional. All around them are other sportsmen, surfers and skateboard champs.

     They settle on the colorful graffiti painted funnel tower (I call it the dunce cap) which has become the sort of unofficial logo of Venice Beach. And there through their discussions we discover that Tyrell’s interview is probably about his friendship with Kollin, not concerning his own involvement with the sport.

     At that moment a young fan (Micah Giovanni), recognizing one of his heroes, approaches Kollin for a photo. His dad, the boy reports, says that Kollin will be drafted in the first round.

     Tyrell suggests that his friend will have the power inspire people like this boy, but Kollin is not all sure he wants the attention, particularly the world looking into their relationship, at that moment making it clear what we suspected that Kollin and Tyrell are lovers, not basketball friends.

     And the problems Kollin are facing become apparent. He cites Jason Collins, the NBA champion who came out in 2013, his career basically coming to an end. Yet things have changed, insists Tyrell. “He’s not you!”

     And for a moment the two men face a kind of unstated painful standoff, particularly since Kollin’s decision to stay closeted or speak out will affect both their lives. Tyrell sits down on the sand in the shadow of the sculpture, Kollin soon joining him to apologize with an unseen kiss.

     Tyrell asks, “Was that an earthquake or something?”

   Kollin responds that he loves him and takes out his cellphone to take a picture, a moment later sending out on line, a reality that those who want to draft will have to face. Kollin has most definitely made his “in the paint” move. Unlike most of the now numerous “out” athletes, he has announced it before getting picked to enter the national limelight, a bit like diver Tom Daley, who won his last Olympic medals after he had come out and married his lover.

 

   This short film isn’t truly earth-shattering and is certainly not profound. But such a conceit would not have been possible only a few years earlier had it not been for men like Jason Collins and others in several sports.

 

Los Angeles, September 3, 2025

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (September 2025).