Sony Pictures Animation picked up the film in March 2019 with a deal and roll out plan. Issa Rae came on board as a voice actor and producers on the project include Gabrielle Union, Jordan Peele, Dwyane Wade, and Gabourey Sidibe. The film was nominated at the 2020 Academy Awards in the category of Best Animated Short and ended up taking home the prize.

It ran in cinemas during screenings of The Angry Birds Movie 2 late in 2019, finally arriving on YouTube 5 December. You can watch the film at the bottom of this article, but in the meantime let’s breakdown why the premise meant so much to so many before the film had even been made:

A spotlight on black fathers

The film was inspired by the relationships his friends have with their children and the viral videos of black fathers with their children, Cherry told LA’s News One Now.

“I just think it was really important to shine a light on black fathers doing domestic things with their kids because I think mainstream media would lead you to believe that [black] fathers aren’t a part of their kids’ lives,” he said.

Oscars 2020: the true story behind Hair Love, the animated short film that celebrates natural hair and black fathers