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The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “Give Me The Ball!” will open the 3rd Croatian International Film Festival on July 24 in the coastal city of Šibenik.
Oscar nominee and Primetime Emmy Award winner Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff have directed a documentary about American tennis player Billie Jean King. The film, which includes interviews with King, his wife Ilana Kloss, tennis luminaries including Chris Evert, and King’s friend Elton John, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
“Give Me the Ball!” The film made its international debut at the opening night screening in Sibenik’s main city square.
“We are excited to bring Billie Jean King’s story to audiences around the world,” Garbus and Wolfe told Variety in a joint statement. “We hope attendees watching the film will be as amazed as we are by the story of Billie Jean, a selfless warrior who risked everything for her community.”
The first CIFF, organized by Croatian-American actress and producer Ella Miche, was held in August 2024 and attracted 5,000 in-person visitors. Mische, who was part of the casting department for the 2022 Adam Sandler film Hustle, has spent the past 20 years in the entertainment industry casting, directing, acting and producing. She decided to launch CIFF during the 2023 Writers and Actors Strike.
“At that time, I saw a lot of my friends depressed,” Misch said. “My friends in New York and Los Angeles and I talked about how there was no work. I thought, ‘Now is the time to create.'” I needed to understand something. ”
Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina, starring Rooney Mara, opened the first CIFF, and Bleecker Street’s The Friend, starring Bill Murray and Naomi Watts, opened the second CIFF.
This year, Mische and 10 CIFF team members received more than 1,200 film submissions from around the world, representing the festival’s largest and most competitive selection pool to date. They narrowed the entries down to 15 feature films, 16 short films, and 14 student films.
Eight narrative films and seven documentaries will be screened during CIFF, including John Alexander’s Little Satchmo and Diana Madison’s No Place Like Home.
ESPN sends an introductory video by Billie Jean King to open “Give Me The Ball!”
Variety magazine’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman said in his review of the film at Sundance, “What a ‘Give Me the Ball’!” Billie Jean King shows that she turned what she wanted into a mission. She became more than just a tennis superstar. She became a cultural hero as important as Muhammad Ali. She almost single-handedly put on the map the idea that women should be paid to play tennis just like men (which wasn’t the case when she started), and it was also a radical concept. -They should earn as much money as men. ”
Garbus and Wolf spent two years creating this document. This document features unpublished personal archives from King fans and tennis fans around the world.
“We need people who fight tough battles, overcome the enemy’s side, make sacrifices, and take great pride in their sacrifices,” the coaches said. “We need people who put the needs of their communities above their own. We’re excited to allow those who know about Billie Jean King to see her through a new prism, and for others to learn about her incredible story for the first time.”
Pablo Arraguez’s “Copeland,” about the life and career of “The Police” drummer Stewart Copeland, will close the festival after a screening at the historic Barone Fortress, one of Sibenik’s most iconic cultural landmarks.
“I’m happy that the needs I saw in the market were recognized sooner than I had dreamed. My ‘trial festival’ paid off,” Mische said.
