israelbaseballleague.com

“Holyland Hardball” Has World Premiere

 

On a beautiful summer day in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts back in August of 2006, the IBL held its first player tryouts under the watchful eye of Dan Duquette. Dozens of hopefuls came, looking to showcase their talents in order to win a spot with the new Israel Baseball League. Some were in their 50’s, some were in their teens. Some ran the 60-yard dash in under seven seconds… and some were in their teens. But it was a glorious day for everybody. At the end of the first round of cuts, one of those who didn’t make it was heard to exclaim, “This was the pinnacle of my baseball career. I was actually cut by none other than Dan Duquette!”

 

Poking around the facility was a young man with a video camera. His name was Brett Rapkin. He was one of eight documentary producers who had inquired of the league as to whether the IBL would entertain the making of a documentary on the launch of the league. This day in August was the first filming done by Brett for the project, the first of hundreds of hours of film that he and his co-producer, Erik Kesten, shot in producing their documentary.

 

Almost two years in the making, “Holyland Hardball” has just enjoyed a prestigious and star-studded premiere, having become an official selection of the American Film Institute/Discovery Channel Silver Docs Documentary Festival. “Holyland Hardball” was one of 45 films, out of over 2,000 that were submitted, to have been selected for this honor.

 

“Holyland Hardball” intimately covers the formation of the league all the way through to the first pitch that was thrown on opening day. Reviews have already started to come in and they are spectacular. Our hats off to Brett and Erik, who have managed to produce an entertaining and accurate portrayal of an event that is able to show the world an Israel that is rarely depicted. For more information, check out http://www.holylandhardball.com./