A couple of players short of ‘Hoop Dreams’

There are promotional films, and there are documentaries. And then there’s the blurry realm in between.

In between is where “3 on 3” belongs. Made by Spokane’s North By Northwest Entertainment, “3 on 3” – which opens today at River Park Square Cinemas – follows three teams as they play their way through Hoopfest 2003.

It’s not quite a documentary because the narration by BD Freeman, plus the spirited music that accompanies virtually every scene, makes the film feel at times like an Up With People production sponsored by the Downtown Spokane Partnership.

It’s not quite a promotion either, because in the course of filming each team – 10-year-old boys from North Spokane, teenage girls from the Spokane Indian Reservation, middle-aged black guys from Atlanta – director David Tanner’s cameras can’t help but address issues of sportsmanship, racist allegations and hot-headed parenting.

One thing is for certain: “3 on 3” takes you into Hoopfest better than anything you’ve ever seen. You get statistics (“30,000 players,” “6,000 teams”), you get diversity, you get elation, you get personality (watch for Jerome Shelton of Team Atlanta, a man with an ego the size of Riverfront Park), you get disappointment, you get controversy, and ultimately, you get excitement.

So, while “3 on 3” doesn’t rate mention with the best sports documentaries – Steve James’ “Hoop Dreams,” for example – Tanner, producer Andrea Palpant and their crews do give a good feel for an annual event that bills itself as “the biggest three-on-three basketball tournament in the world.”

Now that, folks, is pure promotion.