Team Israel’s Tal Erel to attend ‘Israel Swings For Gold’ premiere in Delray and Lake Worth May 6-7 and May 13-14

Menemsha Films premiere its acclaimed documentary film Israel Swings For Gold at Movies of Delray Beach and Movies of Lake Worth. Team Israel’s catcher and Olympian Tal Erel will be at the two theaters May 6-7 and May 13-14 to meet fans and sign autographs. Tal will be joined by film director Daniel A. Miller and teammate Ryan Lavarnway.

Ahead of the film’s opening Tal shared details of his life.

I was born in Ramat Gan, Israel. My introduction to baseball took place while living in Miami. My family had relocated for 4 years to South Florida for my dad’s job. I later played college baseball at Lynn University in Boca Raton. At the age of 10, when it was time to return to Israel, I wanted to stay in Miami since there was no baseball in Israel. That’s when my father founded the Israel Association of Baseball (IAB) and I have been playing on Israel’s national team ever since,” said Tal.

Israel Swings For Gold tells the story of Israel’s baseball team competing in the Tokyo Olympics for the first time in 2021. With no media allowed in the Olympic Village due to COVID restrictions, the players had no choice but to record their own experiences.

Tal shared his thoughts about recording his own experiences on film.

“The whole concept of us documenting was quite interesting. On one hand, you want to experience it without distractions, on the other, you know it’s capturing memories for a lifetime. The film shows the true roller coaster of emotions we went through in this journey. I’ve watched the film several times. Every time, I try to view it in a different perspective and see what people with different backgrounds will feel watching it: as a baseball player, as an Israeli, as an American Jew and as an Israeli player growing up in the program. That’s what this whole team was about: bringing Israel, Israeli baseball, American Jews, baseball fans and Israeli players together for the goal of growing the game in Israel.

Tal reflected on competing in both the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic.

“The Olympics is a fairytale, you are in a bubble with the greatest of the greatest. You play a game and regardless of whether you win or lose, you eat in the cafeteria right next to record breakers, gold medalists and the best athletes humanity has created. The World Baseball Classic is what you dream of as a player. To represent Israel in the biggest baseball tournament and play with and against childhood heroes is unimaginable. I consider the 2021 European Championship to be one of the most memorable experiences of my career. We finished 2nd, which is our highest placement ever, but even more memorable was four Israeli baseball generations playing together.”

Israel Swings for Gold follows the hit 2018 documentary film Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel, which tells the story of Israel’s Cinderella run in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Menemsha Films is currently screening Israel Swings For Gold on the North American film festival circuit, with the intention of releasing it in cinemas around the country throughout 2023 and beyond, following the premiere in South Florida.

The film is being shown exclusively at Movies of Delray in Delray Beach and Movies of Lake Worth in Lake Worth.

Movies of Delray

Friday to Thursday: 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m. with an additional showing on Saturday night at 9 p.m.

Movies of Lake Worth

Friday to Thursday: 12:45 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and an additional showing at 9 p.m. on Saturday night.

Movies of Delray is located at 7421 W Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Call 561-638-0020 for more information.

Movies of Lake Worth is located at 7380 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth. Call 561-968-4545 for more information.
Visit MenemshaFilms.com