Screen/Society--NC Latin American Film Festival--"Ballplayer: Pelotero"

Film Screening: "Ballplayer: Pelotero" (Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, and Jon Paley, 2011, USA/Dominican Republic, 77 min, in Spanish and English w/ English subtitles, Color)/ In the run-up to the most important day of their lives, two young Dominican baseball players confront competition and corruption to achieve their Big-League dreams. For 16-year-old Dominican baseball players, or Peloteros, the only real chance to escape crushing poverty comes every July 2nd, the day they become eligible to sign professional baseball contracts. "Ballplayer: Pelotero" provides an intimate portrait of two prospects as they navigate the calculating, mercenary and often corrupt elements that surround Major League Baseball's recruitment of the island's top talent. / -- "What gives "Pelotero" its edge is a nexus of corruption, exploitation and betrayal that transforms this well-shot, cannily edited item into an engrossing expose." --Variety / Trailer: https://youtu.be/i9jfhRyoljA // Co-sponsored by the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University at UNC-CH and Duke University