LAJFF - Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel / Wendy's Shabbat

Los Angeles Premiere!
FAMILY FRIENDLY FILM!

A stirring story of sports, patriotism and personal growth, HEADING HOME charts the underdog journey of Israel’s national baseball team competing for the first time in the World Baseball Classic. After years of defeat, Team Israel finally ranks among the world’s best in 2017, eligible to play in the prestigious international tournament. Their line-up included several Jewish American Major League players—Ike Davis, Josh Zeid and ex-Braves catcher Ryan Lavarnway—most with a tenuous relationship to Judaism, and never having set foot in Israel. Their odyssey takes them from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they are greeted as heroes, to Seoul where they must debunk their has-been, wannabe reputations. As their “Mensch on a Bench” mascot tags along, the team does much soul-searching, discovering the pride of representing Israel on the world stage.

Preceded by

WENDY’S SHABBAT
Documentary/USA/2017/10 minutes
Directed by Rachel Myers

This uplifting film is about a group of Jewish senior citizens who celebrate the weekly Sabbath at the local Wendy’s fast food restaurant in Palm Desert. It is a story of rediscovering the joys of friendship and community again in older age, and in the longing for ritual, however unorthodox it may appear.

Q&A with Jenn Decker, wife of Cody Decker and former journalist for Sports Illustrated
Sponsored by Shirley and Phil Sniderman & Susan and Mike Vizvary