THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL is in its 16th year, and its sports-specific sub-fest turned 11 last week. This year it was studded with shorts that will never get wide theatrical release but that are perfect for streaming during downtime. SI watched them all and rated them based on the day-to-day activities from which they best offer a discreet respite.
STREAM IT: AT A KIDS' T-BALL GAME
MIKE AND THE MAD DOG
(50 minutes. Release: July 13)
Sports-talk radio took flight with the Mike and the Mad Dog show in New York City, ascending on their opinions and combative style. At times funny and touching, the film charts the rise and fall of a radio power couple and leaves viewers wishing for a reunion.
IN THAT MARKETING MEETING
RUGBY BOYS OF MEMPHIS
(13 minutes. Release: out now)
Turns out rugby is a viable inner-city sport; with little equipment needed, a game can take place almost anywhere. Rugby Boys follows the journey of Calvin Gentry, the captain of the team at Power Center Academy in Memphis, from at-risk kid to star athlete. It portrays plenty of jolts—the biggest being a shot of inspiration.
IRON HANDS
(11 minutes; subtitles. Release: out now)
A 12-year-old girl tries to make the Chinese youth Olympic weightlifting team and gets help from an unlikely source. The film's chock-full of heart, courage and will, but it leaves viewers wanting one more thing: the theme from Rocky.
ON LINE AT STARBUCKS
THE GOOD FIGHT
(15 minutes; subtitles. Release: TBD)
After a personal tragedy a Rio de Janeiro man uses boxing as a way to give back in the favelas. Delving into a side of Rio not often shown at the Olympics, this film is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. But be ready to dance at the end.
GODFATHER OF FITNESS
(18 minutes. Release: out now)
This exploration of Jack LaLanne, the original fitness guru, focuses on what drove his health-crazed passion and how he inspired others to join in. Warning: Watching it might inspire an immediate trip to the gym. Or an immediate Häagen-Dazs-fueled shame binge.
DEAR BASKETBALL
(6 minutes. Release: TBD)
It's a long commercial for Kobe Bryant's well-documented determination as dramatized in the retirement poem he penned of the same name. Animated and matched with original music by composer John Williams, both the graphics and message are compelling.
