JURY AWARD - Superfest Disability Film Festival | WINNER - Beach Cities Inspirational Film Festival | OUTSTANDING RECOGNITION - Beach Cities Inspirational Film Festival
Visual Disabilities • Baseball • Human Potential • Diversity • Championships • Competition & Sportsmanship • Accessibility Technologies • Family Life
Date of Completion: 2023 | Run Time: 97 minutes | Language: English & Spanish with English Audio Description available | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Executive Producer: Robert Arnove | Co-Producers & Co-Directors: Robert Arnove & Susanne Schwibs | Director of Photography: David Gudaitis | Editors: Susanne Schwibs & Henry Malone | Protagonist: Darnell Booker | Narrator: Jesse Eisenberg
How can individuals who are blind and visually impaired play baseball? The documentary THUNDER ROLLS! The World of Blind Baseball tells the story of how this is possible. It combines a thriller sports story with an educational message. When the rules of a game are changed, appropriate technologies are applied, and opportunities are opened, individuals with disabilities can play competitive sports at Olympic levels. THUNDER ROLLS! follows the Indy Thunder beep baseball team in their quest to win a World Championship. In the process it illustrates how the team members and their coach, Darnell Booker, navigate their everyday lives and come together as a family. The documentary reveals a nuanced world that involves the full range of accomplishments and engagements of the individuals portrayed. Narrated by Jesse Eisenberg and with an original music score by Tyron Cooper, this is a spirited, humanistic, sports story operating on many levels of entertainment and social significance.
"Thunder Rolls shows the absolute best that beep baseball and the blind community in general has to offer. Intertwined within the plot of the Thunder's quest to defend their championship are real-world examples of blind adults--professionals--functioning in our daily lives, not to mention a behind-the-scenes look at how a sighted OandM instructor is trained to teach the blind--something I myself had never seen before. This was masterfully done by the producers and in such a way that, even if you don't dig sports, you are drawn to the storyline anyway. This makes Thunder Rolls the greatest beep baseball story ever told"
Film Yap | Christopher Lloyd, Film Critic and Editor
"[A] straightforward, heartwarming look at a bunch of people determined to play sports to the best of their abilities. Sometimes you don’t have to see to believe."
AWARDS
Jury Award | Superfest Disability Film Festival
Outstanding Recognition | Beach Cities Inspirational Film Festival
Winner | Beach Cities Inspirational Film Festival
FILM FESTIVALS
Heartland International Film Festival
Thin Line Fest
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival