The Only Real Game

THE ONLY REAL GAME, "a stirring ode to cultural bridge-building" (Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times), explores the power baseball holds for people in a remote and troubled place. The people of the once-princely state of Manipur, in volatile northeast India, defy gun violence, drug trafficking and HIV/AIDS through a surprising passion for America's national pastime. Manipur entered the Indian Union under protest in 1949, triggering a corrosive separatist conflict that has persisted ever since. For decades baseball has provided a relief from daily struggles and a dream for healing a wounded society. This dream moves toward reality when First Pitch - a band of baseball-loving New Yorkers - and two coaches from Major League Baseball's Envoy program join Manipuri men, women and children to play ball. With gifted women and girls among the best players, as well as leaders of peace and justice initiatives, this story of Manipur brings us to the heart of the great American game, or as Babe Ruth called it, "the only real game in the world." Academy Award winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Frozen River) narrates this deeply stirring documentary by award-winning director Mirra Bank (Last Dance).