Artistic License Films

presents

Fastpitch

A Film by Jeremy Spear

2000/35mm/color/90mins/1:66/Dolby SR

Distribution Contact:

Artistic License Films

250 West 57th Street, Suite 606

New York, NY 10107

Tel 212.265.9124  Fax 212.262.9299

www.artlic.com

Synopsis

At age 35, former Yale Art major and NY based conceptual artist, Jeremy Spear, "craving the thrill of competition," joins the New Jersey Gators, one of America's major fastpitch softball teams. Chasing an old athletic dream, his journey into the little known sport of fastpitch softball brings him deeper than he first thought it  would, into the heart of small-town America.

Later he is recruited by the Ashland Abbott Labs of Ohio. On a journey that brings him from the rural midwest to the Northern Ojibway territory, he meets with fans and players who have witnessed the decline of this sport that once rivaled the popularity of baseball.

He encounters a very eclectic mix of people. There are memorable figures, such as New Zealand outfielder, Shane Hunuhunu, who, despite hearing his name being massacred by native Ashlanders, finds among them a level of warmth and open-heartedness that breaks the stereotype one might have about rural America. Spear meets the financially-creative coach of the Ashland Abbott Labs, Nick McCurry, who has learned to stretch the fastpitch dollar a little more every year. He encounters Florida tycoon, Peter Porcelli, whose financial superiority has created controversy and rivalry among the other teams and who is obsessed with winning the World Fastpitch Championship, at any cost. The filmmaker finds himself face to face with the unrivaled Native American legend from the Toronto Gators, Darren Zack, who has found in fastpitch the fulfillment of a long-lasting dream to represent his people at a national level in the United States.

Spear records the daily survival of an amateur sport which lack of popularity has drawn sponsors away from, condemning it to a level of precariousness only inversely proportionate to the passion it still revives in players and supporters alike.

Some may find in it, just a pastime, some, a vehicle to carry out their fight against alcohol and drug addiction in their community, for others it remains the purest form of competitive sport.

The film details vanishing Americana, the line between hobby and obsession, and a pride in identity that transcends racial or regional affiliation.

Whatever the motivation, the involvement goes so deep that it is impossible not to share the passion for fastpitch.

About the Filmmakers

Jeremy Spear - Writer/Director/Producer

Jeremy Spear, is a New York-based sculptor and painter. He has served on the Artist Advisory Panel for Art in General and he is a co-founder of the A/C Project Room. He played second base for the Yale NCAA Tournament team and the '81 Ivy League Championship. Spear later discovered fastpitch softball and was selected to the USA Men's Maccabiah Team, winning silver and bronze medals in '93 and '97. Jeremy currently plays with the Helfin Builders of Balston Lake, NY.

Michel Negroponte - Co-Producer

Michel Negroponte is an award winning documentary filmmaker. His highly acclaimed film Jupiter's Wife, won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance 1995 and premiered the Cinemax series Reel Life. Jupiter's Wife was also awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Documentary and enjoyed a nationwide 35mm cinema release. He has just completed W.I.S.O.R., a science fiction documentary about an underground robot.

Juliet Weber - Editor and Co-Director

Juliet Weber has an impressive list of credits that includes many PBS and HBO documentaries. This list includes The Restless Conscience and Daughter of the Bride, both nominated for Academy Awards, Picture This, for the ABC series The Century, Dragtime for HBO's America Undercover, Outside the Frame for PBS, Lindbergh for the American Experience, and the independent feature, Secret Honor, directed by Robert Altman. She has also consulted on a number of projects including Before You Go for HBO, and Trinkets and Beads for Cinemax.

Elia Lyssy - Director of Photography

Elia Lyssy has worked on more than 25 documentary projects as a cameraman, editor, director, and producer. His work in both film and video has included projects in Switzerland, Ecuador, Israel, and throughout the United States. His film Silk Dreams (Director/Editor) about boxer Michael Olajide was awarded Best Documentary at the 1993 First Run Film Festival in New York. Lyssy is a graduate of New York University (Film & Television Studies), and has lectured in the NYU Graduate Film School.

Billy "Spaceman" Patterson - Original Musical Score and Arrangement

Billy "Spaceman" Patterson is a composer and musician who has played with and recorded with a virtual who's who of the music world, including Miles Davis, James Brown, Vanessa Williams, Crystal Waters, James Taylor, Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, and Mary J. Blige. He has performed all styles of music including Jazz, Rock, Country & Western, Gospel, Rap and Hip-Hop. His film credits include House Party, Something Wild, Posse, and The Inkwell. Patterson can currently be seen as the band leader on the Fox Television hit series New York Undercover, and as Musical Director of The Bill Cosby All-Stars.

Mike Harlow - Field Director and Sound

Mike Harlow has worked on numerous documentary projects as a director, producer, cameraman, and sound man. His documentary work has appeared on PBS, Channel Four (London), Lifetime Cable Network, Swiss, German and Australian Television. He is an accomplished cameraman whose credits include the highly acclaimed Passin'It On, which was selected Best of Category at the 1993 San Francisco International Film Festival.

Frederick Kaufman - Co-Writer

Frederick Kaufman is an adjunct professor of English at Hunter College in New York City. His first novel, Forty-Two Days and Nights on the Iberian Peninsula with Anis Ladron, was published by Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. His non-fiction articles, criticism, and reviews have appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, GQ Magazine, Spy Magazine, New York Magazine, The Village Voice Literary Supplement, The Jewish Forward, and Aperture.