“Pitching Man: Satchel Page Defying Time” with short “Gandhi At The Bat” - 5:00pm – Sunday, February 24
Q&A with Pitching Man Writer & Director: Greg Davidson -
PITCHING MAN: Satchel Paige Defying Time is a compelling 55-minute documentary narrated by actor Billy Dee Williams. Over a decade in the making, this film pays homage to a remarkable athlete. Paige was the single most important player in the old Negro Baseball Leagues and an American legend. He was an extraordinary athlete and a genuine original who played the game for forty years on makeshift rural sandlots and in major league ballparks against the best in the game. When Paige triumphed in the major leagues as a 42-year old rookie, he solidified his position as a hero in black communities and confirmed his status as one of the greats of the game. Satchel Paige was unique and idiosyncratic but his accomplishments in baseball reflected his perseverance hard work and discipline. His personal struggle against racism and later ageism had tremendous impact. He was almost entirely self-made and possessed and inner dignity and strength. Satchel Paige's weapons were skill, wit, charm, humor, intelligence, savvy and an overpowering fastball. Paige became the first Negro Leaguer to win induction into baseball's Hall of Fame. His is a vivid story that illustrates much about the times and the plight of Black Americans. This documentary remembers a true baseball immortal and paints a vivid portrait of American society in transition. For well over a decade, filmmakers Craig Davidson and Donn Rogosin pieced together this extraordinary story. The journey began while recoding interviews for their critically acclaimed documentary, THERE WAS ALWAYS SUN SHINING SOMEPLACE: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues. "It seems everyone had a story about Paige, arguably the greatest pitcher of his era," noted Davidson, "he was complex with Madison Avenue savvy, B.T. Barnum showmanship and a wit that could disarm his harshest critics." Youtube Trailer
Gandhi at the Bat is a newsreel-style account of the little-known (and totally fictional) incident when Mohandas K. Gandhi pinch-hit for the New York Yankees in 1933. Based on a short story by Chet Williamson that originally appeared in the New Yorker magazine in 1983, Gandhi at the Bat is a faithful recreation of a 1930s-style newsreel. The 11-minute movie includes over 75 effects shots that transform the actual shooting location (a minor league ballpark in Bakersfield, California) into a faithful recreation of Yankee Stadium as it was over seventy years ago.
General Admission Tickets are $10.00 online and $12.00 at the door. Senior and Student tickets are $10. and are only available at the door.
