Best movies like Truth Be Told: Rick Ankiel

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

Set against the backdrop of a high school football season, Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s documentary UNDEFEATED is an intimate chronicle of three underprivileged student-athletes from inner-city Memphis and the volunteer coach trying to help them beat the odds on and off the field. For players and coaches alike, the season will be not only about winning games — it will be about how they grapple with the unforeseeable events that are part of football and part of life.

This documentary takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight Goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.

An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league.

On a Knife Edge is a father-son story about Guy and George Dull Knife that unfolds over the course of George’s coming-of-age journey. Under his father’s guidance, George becomes an activist and organizer, and begins identifying with the role of traditional Lakota warrior, which he views as his family legacy. He commits himself to the fight for social justice, but struggles with adapting the old ways and his father’s expectations to the modern-day realities of growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Told largely through George’s eyes, the film offers a privileged glimpse into the youngest generation of the American Indian Movement, as well as George’s own evolving notions of Native identity, manhood, and duty. His story is interwoven with animated sequences that depict five generations of family history, narrated by his father and based on paintings he has created to explore the continuum of their fight through the generations.

Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. The bet proves incentive enough for the team, and they go from worst to first, making it to state for the first time in the history of the school. Jim, forced to live up to his end of the deal, is nearly laughed off the try-out field--until he gets onto the mound, where he confounds the scouts (and himself) by clocking successive 98 mph fastballs, good enough for a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jim's still got a lot of pitches to throw before he makes it to The Show, but with his big-league dreams revived, there's no telling where he could go.

A bat boy guides the San Diego Padres to the World Series with the secret help of his dad, a baseball has-been who now sells refreshments in the stands.

Two teens facing personal struggles form a powerful bond as they embark on a cathartic journey chronicling the wonders of Indiana.

Roger is a foster child whose irresponsible father promises to get his act together when Roger's favourite baseball team, the California Angels, wins the pennant. The problem is that the Angels are in last place, so Roger prays for help to turn the team around. Sure enough, his prayers are answered in the form of angel Al.

Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.

A true story of a teenage love triangle leading to one of the two boys' tragic death - told through the lens of elite youth baseball.

A surreal portrait of a Catholic Private School and its hierarchy. A new student must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates.

Alex believed in his baseball hero Billy Young. When Billy's performance struggled, Alex's friends began to doubt Alex; and Billy began to doubt himself. Alex wants to prove to his friends, to Billy, and to himself that believing in someone can make the difference.

An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.

When Colonel James Braddock is told that his Asian wife and 12-year-old son are still alive in Communist Vietnam, he mounts a one-man assault to free them. Armed with the latest high-tech firepower, Braddock fights his way into the heart of the country and ends up battling his way out with several dozen abused Amerasian children in tow! Struggling to keep them alive while outmaneuvering a sadistic Vietnamese officer, Braddock ignites the jungle in a blazing cross-country race for freedom.

When the San Francisco Giants pay center-fielder, Bobby Rayburn $40 million to lead their team to the World Series, no one is happier or more supportive than #1 fan, Gil Renard. When Rayburn becomes mired in the worst slump of his career, the obsessed Renard decides to stop at nothing to help his idol regain his former glory—not even murder.

Olivia and Matthew Grey, 18-year-old twins born into a world of privilege and high expectations. There are almost no boundaries between them - even their dreams are connected.

Tom Kelly, a small-town baseball pitcher, is sent to a minor-league team in Florida, and fails to make the team. He starts dabbling in real estate, in the midst of the Florida land boom (in which a lot of the land sold was under water), makes a fortune and buys into the team that cut him from its roster.

After taking a job managing a little league team, a homeless man inspires the kids to reach for it all and they inspire him to reclaim his life.

True story of the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball.

In South Boston, where Irish roots run deep and Catholic tradition reigns, two brothers face similar hardships but lead far different lives. While older brother Terry descends into drugs and crime, 16-year-old Cole vies to make the state baseball championships - but must struggle to withstand his brother's destructive influence.

The true story about a father struggling to make amends with his twin sons as they pursue their dreams of professional baseball.

Joe Mazzello, best known for his acting roles in Jurassic Park, HBO's The Pacific, The Social Network, etc, wrote and made his directorial debut with this story based on his brother's experience as a collegiate baseball star who was skipped over in the Major League Baseball draft. Story centers around an intramural baseball game with his misfit teammates that becomes incredibly important to him as he tries to come to grips with his dashed dream.

Comic melodrama following the day-to-day life of high school senior Will, a promising but naive athlete struggling with choices that could determine his future, romance and family difficulties.

Every year in June, nearly 2,000 athletes out of high school and college are chosen from an amateur baseball draft to play in the minor leagues. This inspiring documentary follows the lives of two young players on their arduous journey to launch Major League Baseball careers. As one faces his final year to tryout, another player wrestles with the pressure of keeping his million-dollar first-round draft contract intact. This thrilling and emotional journey illuminates the power determination can have on whether dreams are achieved or lost.

A young baseball pitcher in the bush leagues is discovered by a big-league manager and given his chance in the major leagues.

The Story of one-handed baseball pitcher Jim Abbott.

A down-on his-luck baseball pitcher finds a new set of rewards coaching a gang of underprivileged youngsters and romancing a career-oriented playground supervisor who, against her better judgment, put the kids in his charge.

St. Louis is viewed as one of the best baseball towns in America, however, the city's major league history is not confined to the Cardinals. For five decades, St. Louis fielded a second professional team - the St. Louis Browns. The Browns tendency to be remembered as a mere punchline has obscured their place in history, but their story is more than their reputation would suggest. It's the story of what could have been but never was. Of baseball legends lost to time. Of glorious gimmicks. As a beloved team turned fraternity of failure. This is the story of a team that found its place in history by losing its home. It's a story forgotten no more.

Documentary feature exploring the rise of African-Americans to positions of greatness in American sports. Stories are told of boxers, tennis players, runners, and basketball players, athletes who either suffered the indignities of racism, helped break down its walls, or enjoyed the opportunities afforded by past struggles.

An exploration into the struggle American girls and women have faced trying to play their country's national pastime from 1931 to the present day. The story is told by players, coaches, umpires, and parents from age 9 to 90, celebrates those who've succeeded in spite of crippling gender bias, and considers the path forward to make the game accessible to all women across the USA.

A story of family, of dreams deferred, and of a final chance at redemption. Frustrated with his waning baseball career, David returns to his hometown and becomes obsessed with a local lovely, reaching out to her troubled son. When David is rejected, the townsfolk gossip about his relationship with the boy.

Battling back from a debilitating knee injury and struggling with his own inner demons, Rip, a professional baseball player nearing the end of his career, reluctantly revisits his long-forgotten hometown to finally face his estranged, dying father. Through a journey of self-discovery, redemption, and forgiveness, Rip learns that life isn't always played between the chalk lines of the baseball diamond.

A group of conflicted youths and adults struggling for personal connections are united by self-destruction, tragedy and redemption.

The triumphs and challenges of Negro League baseball in the early 20th century. Through rare footage and interviews with iconic players like Satchel Paige and Buck O'Neil, as well as Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, the film highlights the league's pivotal role in Black communities and the impact of integration.