From Batey to Baseball: The Amaury Telemaco Story

I had the privilege of going to a documentary premiere yesterday. One of my friends, the very talented Josh Powers, directed a film for his capstone class at Quinnipiac University. He was assisted by an amazing group of students including Alisa Nosti, Jeff Abrahams, Stephanie Walls, Megan Guilfoyle and Ryan Scanlon. The team pitched an idea to their QU professors last spring that they wanted to go down to the Dominican Republic and shoot a documentary about the way of life down there and the poverty that most people live in. The film would be shedding light on a situation that many people are not aware of.  Josh Powers has been going to the DR on mission trips since he was ten years old. He knows firsthand the devastation, poverty and heart of the bateys (villages) where many Haitian workers live. At first the pitch was shot down but then the team stumbled upon the idea of going through another individual. Their connection to Amaury Telemaco proved to be a fruitful one, Powers pitched idea to him in less than a minute and Telemaco was on board.

The documentary is a little less than a half hour and touches upon the heart of the bateys and the heart of Telemaco. It's a story that brings poverty and care to the forefront, educating people while entertaining them with a unique story about a baseball player who grew up in poverty and had a love and passion for baseball. Telemaco has played for the Chicago Cubs, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies. The team, including Amaury and his family, sacrificed many hours to create the film. It's truly a beautiful piece of work that showcases one man's journey from nothing to a major league baseball career, and how he has turned around his life to go back and educate boys in his home country by teaching them how to play baseball. 

The team of students worked tirelessly to make the best possible product, and I have to say they exceeded my expectations. In addition to creating the film and putting all the work into it, they also had to use translators to translate all of the Spanish dialogue that takes place in the film. The challenges of achieving the end result were numerous. The team of students not only overcame them, but created a heartwarming documentary that will be cherished for years. 

The film will be entered into various film festivals and therefore cannot be released on DVD at this time. If you are interested in getting a copy when it does become available please let Jentertainment know.