Baseball is known as America’s pastime. But a short documentary by Idaho-born filmmaker Reed Lindsay might make you question if another country is more deserving of this title.
“Pelota” is the name of the 10-minute-long documentary Lindsay shot in Cuba last year. The communist country has exported much of its talent to American major league teams, signing Cuban baseball players to multi-million dollar contracts. But in Cuba, players make about the same as ordinary people. Lindsay says this creates close relationships between fans and the athletes.
“So they’re not millionaires driving off in SUVs with tinted windows and living in mansions," says Lindsay. "They’re ordinary people like everyone else. And so they hang out with the fans during the game, after the game, before the game. They’re not seen as different than ordinary people.”
A ticket to a Cuban baseball game costs about four American cents. The filmmaker says baseball games there are a gathering place for all kinds of people, and he hopes to go back to Cuba to make a longer documentary on the subject.
"Pelota" will be screened along with a number of others at Filmfort, the movie portion of Treefort Music Fest. The multi-genre festival runs from March 23rd-27th in downtown Boise.
Find Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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