WORLD PREMERE OF “RENZO GRACIE:LEGACY” TO BE SATURDAY OCTOBER 25 AT U.S. SPORTS FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY COMCAST SPORTSNET IN PHILDELPHIA

Posted on | October 9, 2008 | No Comments

PHILADELPHIA (October 8, 2008) – Organizers of the inaugural U.S. Sports Film Festival today announced the complete schedule of events that will comprise the four-day event taking place in Philadelphia from October 23-26.

“The complete schedule for the first-ever U.S. Sports Film Festival presented by Comcast SportsNet is set and we are looking forward to Oct. 23-26,” said festival president and founder Stephen Hartman. “With films ranging from mixed martial arts and “Renzo Gracie: Legacy;” to tennis and the ‘Signature Series: Pete Sampras’, as well as basketball, football, baseball, and others, the lineup has something for every sports fan to enjoy.”

The film on the life of the MMA legend will be seen for the first time on Saturday, October 25 from 6:30-9 at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia. Following the film there will be a panel that will include Renzo Gracie, producer Gethin Aldous and others. The screening will give fans time to see the movie and still watch the UFC Pay-per-view from Chicago that night.

In all, the USSFF will have more than 40 screenings. Recently added films include:
Bud Greenspan’s “16 Days to Glory;” “First Basket,” about follows the little-known history of Jews and basketball at the beginning of the 20th century; “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29,” the story of the famed 1968 Ivy League football game between two of the most renowned academic institutions in the world; “Peglegs of St. Stuyvesant High,” is the documentary produced by five-time Emmy winner Paulette Douglas, following Manhattan’s Stuyvesant High School football team and the lives of Max Niddam, Romeo Alexander and Aaron Landman; “Pittsburgh Passion,” this documentary brings you football with a spin, following the lives of the Pittsburgh Passion of the International Women’s Football League (IWFL); “Running the Sahara,” on February 20, Charlie, Ray and Kevin touched the Red Sea, just a few hours before sunset en route through six countries and the Sahara; “Streetballers,” is an Irish-Urban drama exploring the lives of two junior-college basketball players and their struggles within a divided city, broken homes, and the demands of collegiate level athletics; “Sugar,” a fictional true-to-life drama around the character of Miguel “Sugar” Santos, a hot Dominican pitching prospect for the fictional Kansas City Knights who has a dream to make it in the big leagues; “The Hammer,” tells the story about a guy edging into middle age trying to become a success fighting guys half his age; and “We Are Young,” the Major League Baseball Productions production which spans seven years chronicling the highs and lows of brothers Delmon and Dmitri Young’s journey to make and succeed in the Major League.

These films join an All-Star lineup that includes the Mixed Martial Arts documentary; the debut of “Basketball in the Barrio,” the story of two former University of Texas El Paso basketball players who started a program teaching basketball to the impoverished immigrant children of South El Paso, and the stories of those who used basketball as a tool for fulfillment, as well as “Kicking It,” the Ted Leonsis-produced film about a team of homeless soccer players and their life stories and successes on the pitch; “Run For Your Life,” the true-life story of the man who created the New York City Marathon, Fred Lebow; “Kassim The Dream,” the story of Ugandan-born (and Philadelphia resident) boxing world champion Kassim Ouma, a kidnapped child soldier and his struggles to break free and regain his life as a professional athlete; “The Zen of Bobby V,” the baseball film which follows former MLB manager Bobby Valentine through Japanese baseball; “Truth in 24,” which follows all the drama of the 24 hours of LeMans, and “Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot,” former Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s chronicle of eight of the country’s top high school hoopsters, including NBA rookies Michael Beasley and Kevin Love, as they negotiate the courts of legendary Rucker Park in New York .

Also on tap for the festival will be a series of classic films by producer Mark Ciardi, including “Invincible” and “The Rookie.” The baseball film “The Natural,” starring Robert Redford rounds out the classic films series of the festival.

To obtain tickets to the U.S. Sports Film Festival go to www.ussportsfilmfestival.com or call (800) 298-4200. For Sponsorship information please call (212) 752-2500.