The Sports Rom-com Enters A New Era With LOVE AND BASEBALL

From Director Steve Acevedo (Queen of The South) comes Love And Baseball a sports rom-com premiering as the centerpiece of the Dances With Films Festival, Saturday, August 28th at 7:00 p.m. at the TLC Chinese Theater. www.danceswithfilms.com

Love And Baseball stars actress Tate Hanyok (The Office, Sex APPeal) and Max Arciniega (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad.) A spark ignites between Will (Arciniega) and Michele (Hanyok) after a chance encounter, but due to poor timing and intrusion of reality, they strike out twice. When fate gives them another chance at the plate--will they hit or miss?

"This project is so different from my usual work, it presented new challenges at every turn. I wanted to present a film that is a cross section of life not necessarily a film along ethnic lines. Borders are imaginary lines on a map. In Love & Baseball the only barriers are those we impose ourselves.

It's a universal love story that just happens to have a Mexican American as its focus. While it's important to present our larger cultural struggles, it's also important to provide a look at the smaller stories of individual joy, connection, and intimacy. Love is universal. Baseball is very American. Our hero, Will Reyes, is looking for the same things that are traditionally reserved for Caucasian characters in American cinema. I'm seeking to equalize my community by creating a pathway to common ground" said Acevedo in Los Angeles.

Based on the play of the same name by Jerry Montoya, Will, a baseball junkie meets Michele, a philosophy teacher, while she is waiting at his house for his roommate. The story is told through three meetings where their initial sudden and deep connection is tested with each encounter. Will explains their relationship to Michele in terms of baseball analogies. Each meeting was shot by a different cinematographer to differentiate the moments in time.

Award-winning Director Steve Acevedo is an action-driven, emotion-focused filmmaker, whose projects reflect a rigor and affinity for capturing heart-pounding moments, from elaborate and intensely violent sequences to a simple shared breath that changes everything. Nowhere is this more evident than in the 2 episodes of the USA Network series, Queen of the South, he directed. Love And Baseball, his feature directorial debut, is set to have its world premiere at Dances With Films on August 28, 2021. He has also directed a diverse spectrum of commercials for sports brands like Nike Basketball, to beer brands like Cerveza Montejo, to comedic campaigns for BurgerFi, and many more.

His visual perspective is informed by extensive experience as a cinematographer, including the indie feature credits Satellite Of Love and Jack's Apocalypse. In the doc world, he recently shot Coded Bias, which screened in competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and is currently available on Netflix. He also shot the Leonardo DiCaprio produced feature, Catching The Sun, and collaborated with Ken Jeong on the ESPN 30 for 30 film, Student/Athlete. He is currently lensing the feature documentary, Tik Tok Boom, being produced by Campfire.

Born and raised in San Antonio, TX, Steve earned his M.F.A. in Film Production from Florida State University. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and currently resides in the lush urban sprawl of North Hollywood, CA.

Acting revelation Tate Hanyok is a writer-actor-producer focused on female-driven comedy and young adult stories. She was named one of the AFF & Moviemaker Top 25 Writers to Watch and one of the Top 100 Emerging Writers on Tracking Board's 2019 Young and Hungry List. As a California native transplant, by way of Virginia, Tate's bleeding liberal heart and perspective are steeped in the unpredictable (and hilarious) reality of the underdog, and the strength and magic of community. As a storyteller she relishes in uplifting themes that are universal, and is driven by a burning desire to tell the stories of her unsung heroes.

As a writer, she's most recently been hired by Picturestart to adapt the Wattpad novel Along for the Ride into a motion picture and has also written The Pet Nup and Family Week for Mucho Mas. As a producer, Tate is currently executive producing her original feature script Sex APPeal alongside American High for Hulu, to be released in November of 2021.

And additionally, Tate has guest starred in many notable shows and films including The Office, Superstore, The Detour, Community, Shameless, Transparent, Burt Wonderstone, and many more. She has also appeared in nearly 100 commercials. Her multi-hyphenate career began on the stage, where she is a company member with The B Street Theatre at the Sofia Center for the Arts in CA.

Produced by Steve Acevedo and Tate Hanyok, Love And Baseball was directed by Steve Acevedo, adapted from the play Love And Baseball by Jerry Montoya, written by Steve Acevedo, Joe Boothe, Tate Hanyok and Jerry Montoya. Score by Katya Mihailova. Cinematographers: Andres Solorzano Joseph B. Hernandez and Steve Acevedo. The film was edited by Acevedo.

DANCES WITH FILMS was formed in 1998 by a group of filmmakers who envisioned a festival where "who you know" didn't matter, only the quality of the work. Our name, Dances With Films, was a play on the plethora of 'dance' film festivals that cropped up left and right at the time - Slamdance, Digidance, Nodance, TromaDance. Truth be told, it started out as a rebellious joke. Originally the fest had the long title of "Dances With Films: Festival of the Unknowns" - something of a send up to all the 'Dance' Festivals that seemed to spring up overnight. Then, after a battle with Orion Pictures, it became a symbol of their irreverence and commitment to challenge the system.

Since 1998 Dances With Films has grown from presenting a handful of films to nearly 200 each year from only narrative features and shorts to include the top documentaries, music videos tv & web on the circuit today. In 2007 DWF brought new commitment to the indie world with the advent of the 2 Minute, 2 Step Short Film Challenge where they shoot 10 films during the festival and presented them to enthusiastic audiences. In 2012 the festival moved to its current location - the famed Chinese Theatre in the heart of Hollywood. From there it has expanded to 11 days with ever-increasing sold-out theatres.

Steve Acevedo is represented by Buchwald and Bauman Management. Tate Hanyok is represented by ICM Partners.

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