One World Cinema

TRIBECA/ESPN SPORTS FILM FESTIVAL LINE-UP

Gala

• Big Shot, directed by Kevin Connolly. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary.  In 1997, John Spano, a previously unknown Dallas business mogul, bought the New York Islanders for a whopping $165 million. The future looked bright for the once-legendary team. Then Spano took his seat in the front office. Entourage’s Kevin Connolly takes us behind the scenes of the biggest fraud in hockey history, as Spano’s wealth is revealed to be a lie and his rise to power a brilliantly concocted scheme.

The following Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival titles have been announced in their respective sections as part of the 2013 TFF film program:

·         McConkey, directed and written by Steve Winter, Murray Wais, Scott Gaffney, David Zieff, and Rob Bruce. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. An all-star roster of sports movie-making talent directs this heartfelt biography of extreme ski trailblazer Shane McConkey, once described as “the most influential skier ever.”McConkey covers forty years and countless high places to track Shane’s conversion from downhill racer to freeskiing marvel to pioneer of a hair-raising new discipline—ski BASE jumping—giving new meaning to the question, how do you live your life to the fullest?

• Lenny Cooke, directed by Benny Safdie and Joshua Safdie. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.

• The Trials of Muhammad Ali, directed by Bill Siegel. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Brash boxer Cassius Clay burst into the American consciousness in the early 1960s, just ahead of the Civil Rights movement. His transformation into the spiritually enlightened heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is legendary, but this religious awakening also led to a bitter legal battle with the U.S. government after he refused to serve in the Vietnam War. This film reveals the perfect storm of race, religion and politics that shaped one of the most recognizable figures in sports history.

·         The Motivation, directed by Adam Bhala Lough. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Go inside the lives and training regimes of eight of the world’s gutsiest professional skateboarders. These fearless stars face unique obstacles on the way to the Street League Championship and the coveted title of best street skateboarder in the world. Adam Bhala Lough, creator of the independent hit Bomb the System (TFF 2003), directs this fresh, energetic documentary search for that elusive quality that separates winners from the pack. In English, Portuguese with subtitles.

Special Screenings from the “Nine for IX” series

• Pat XO, directed by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters. Produced by Robin Roberts. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In August 2011, Pat Summitt, NCAA basketball’s winningest coach, made the stunning announcement that she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.  Before and after resigning in April 2012, the legendary coach and her son, Tyler, have set out to beat this challenge as they had every other—with grace, humor and, most of all, each other. Pat XO tells the remarkable story of this incomparable coach as it has never been told before, straight from the people who knew her best.

• The Diplomat, directed by Senain Kheshgi and Jennifer Arnold. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. At the height of the Cold War, Katarina Witt became one of East Germany’s most famous athletes, winning six European titles, four world championships and back-to-back Olympic gold medals. Known as “the most beautiful face of socialism,” she earned unique benefits in East Germany but also constant surveillance from the Stasi, the notorious secret police force.

·         No Limits, directed by Alison Ellwood. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Suffering from scoliosis as a teenager, Audrey Mestre found freedom in the ocean. Years later, she discovered another reason to love the water: the elusive, often raucous free diver Pipin Ferreras. As Mestre follows Ferreras’s almost spiritual quest to push his limits underwater, she moves from supporter to ardent free diver to world-class competitor. Then a challenge from a rival pushes the couple to the brink of what is possible, both above and below the surface.

• Let Them Wear Towels, directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. During the 1977 World Series, Sports Illustratedreporter Melissa Ludtke was denied access to the players’ locker room. After a very public fight, the door was opened, but the debate about female journalists in the male sanctum of the clubhouse remained. Through interviews with pioneering female sports writers, Let Them Wear Towels captures the raw behavior, humorous retaliation, angry lawsuits and remarkable resolve that went into the struggle for equal access for women reporters.

About the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival

The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival is a partnership between Tribeca Enterprises, the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival, and ESPN Inc.  The Festival, founded in 2006, is the premiere showcase for independent sports films.

Tickets for the 2013 Festival:

Advance selection ticket packages and passes, as well as discount ticket packages are now on sale. All Festival packages and passes can be purchased online at www.tribecafilm.com/festival, or by telephone at (646) 502-5296 or toll free at (866) 941-FEST (3378).

Tickets for the Festival will be $16.00 for evening and weekend screenings, and $8.00 for all late-night and weekday matinee screenings. Single ticket sales begin Tuesday, April 9 for American Express Cardmembers, Sunday, April 14 for downtown residents, and Monday, April 15 for the general public. Single tickets can be purchased online, by telephone, or at one of the Ticket Outlets, with locations at Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick Street, Clearview Cinemas Chelsea at 260 W. 23rd Street, and AMC Loews Village 7 at 66 3rd Avenue. The 2013 Festival will continue offering ticket discounts for evening and weekend screenings for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at Ticket Outlet locations only. Additional information and further details on the Festival can be found at www.tribecafilm.com.