U.S. Sports Film Festival in Phildelphia - We Are Young: A Baseball Family

This past Friday, three of us ventured over to the US Sports Film Festival to catch the first ever showing of We Are Young: A Baseball Family. Upon walking into the theater, we were surprised to find that we were only a handful of people at the festival. By the time the movie started, approximately 50-60 people were at the screening, leaving the the large theater only about a fifth full. However, those of us who did attend were treated to a great film.

We Are Young follows two baseball brothers, Dmitri and Delmon Young, through their respective MLB baseball careers from 2001 to 2008. In 2001, Dmitri Young is 27, already in the big leagues and enjoying a successful career. His younger brother, Delmon, is 15 and the top-rated baseball prospect in the country. At the head of the family is the father, Larry, who for reasons not entirely explained is called Young Larry, even by his sons, most of the time. Larry comes from a military background. As the beginning of the documentrary points out, Larry did not know anything about baseball, but teaches his sons the game after educating himself about it, in the process taking a military-like approach to his teachings and trainings.

The first few years highlight successes by both Youngs. Dmitri continues to enjoy a solid career, even making his first All-Star game. Meanwhile, Delmon is drafted first overall coming out of high school. This surpasses Dmitri's claim of being drafted 4th overall out of high school. Larry takes great pride in the fact that his sons were both drafted in the top 4. As the film points out, it is the first time a father has had two sons drafted in the top 4 of any professional sports draft.

Delmon gets off to a great start in his minor league career, including being named the top-rated minor leage prospect in all of baseball. However, his call-up to the big league squad does not come as quickly as he had hoped for as he starts out the 2006 season back in the minors. The 2006 season ends up being a disastrous one for Delmon, as well as Dmitri.

For Delmon, he becomes the center of a negative media storm after he flips his bat, which then strikes an umpire. He is ultimately suspended for 50 games, with several members of the media calling the punishment too light. Dmitri's season may have been even worse. He is accused of assaulting his girlfriend, which garners negative media attention. During the season, he has a stint at an alcohol rehab facility. He then makes his way back to Detriot and resumes playing, but just as he has appeared to turn the corner and play well, he is let go by the team for lack of performance, which nobody seems to buy. The underlying thought is that he was released because the team did want his upcoming assault case to be a negative distraction to the Tigers' season. The release is devastating to Dmitri who then watches as the Tigers go all the way to the World Series. The 2006 year ends with Dmitri finding out he has diabetes after an episode in which he almost died.

A good portion of the documentary focuses on the 2006 season. It ends on a promising note as Delmon finally does make it to big leagues and enjoys immediate success. Dmitri also makes it back to the majors with the Nationals, and finds himself back in the All-Star game.

More than the on-the-field story of both Youngs, the documentary really focuses on the interactions and relationships between Larry, Dmitri and Delmon. As the director pointed out before the screening, We Are Young is really about family.

After the movie, there was a Q&A, featuring Dmitri and Larry. It was interesting to hear their takes on the movie and how they felt they were portrayed, particularly Larry as he is not sure if he would have raised his sons differently given a second chance. They both joked actually that the movie kept out some of the worst stuff. My own personal take is that it was rather sad that so few people attended what was essentially the premiere of the movie. After watching Dmitri and Larry for 90 minutes on the big screen, I felt they deserved a full house.

It is unknown where We Are Young goes from here. All three of us enjoyed it, as did seemingly everyone else in attendance. It is MLB's first move in to the motion picture business so one would assume that it has a future place on the soon-to-be MLB channel. Beyond that, who knows. However, if you do have a chance to ever see We Are Young, I would strongly recommend it.

Article contributor: Andrew Evans

U.S. Sports Film Festival in Phildelphia - Running the Sahara

While the Philadelphia Phillies were making baseball history playing in their first world series since 1980, Philadelphia was also welcoming the first U.S Sports Film Festival. The four day event began October 23, with several movie screenings, panel discussion, and opening night party. Participating in the kick-off, I watched the screening of Running the Sahara a true documentary recording the adventures of 3 runners attempting to run across the Sahara desert. The movie was directed and narrated by actor Matt Damon. This film is touching and endearing as we go along the physical, psychological, and emotional journey these runners endure. Supported by a first-class team of doctors, physical therapists, nutritionists, and country guides the runners and entire crew push themselves past their limits to successfully cross 6 countries and 4300 miles in 111 days. What makes the film so powerful is that it’s more than simply a video of 3 men running. It displays lessons on teamwork, leadership, courage, strength, and compassion that not many cannot conquer. Additionally, the film brings awareness to both the beauty and challenges facing Africa. One of the film’s major initiatives is to support H20 Africa, which is a clean water project to bring awareness of the water crisis in Africa. During the film the gravity of this issue hit home when the runners and crew came across a 7 year old boy who was left alone in the desert for days while his parents went to get water.

At the end of the movie audiences feel as though they have made the journey with these runners and have gained an appreciation for the unique beauty of Africa. Every time I feel winded running for the bus or walking up a flight of stairs, I’ll always think back to this film and remember that I can do more…


Article contributor: Stephanie McDuffie