Play (stick)ball! Local filmmaker directs award-winning short on Brooklyn pastime
Fond memories of a once popular sport among Brooklynites are what local filmmaker Jason Cusato attempted to convey to audiences when he shot “When Broomsticks were Kings,” an award-winning documentary/mockumentary based on the game of stickball.
The 27-minute short retells the story of Cusato’s father, other family members and locals playing the game they adored all day during the 1940s and 1950s and why it meant so much to them.
“I grew up playing stickball,” said Cusato, who will turn 40 this year. “But my father’s generation really played it a lot in Brooklyn. He always told me stories of him and his teams playing in different neighborhoods.”