The Best We’ve Got: The Carl Erskine Story Community Screening 1

9644 Whitestown Road,Zionsville IN 46077

12 April, 2023

Description

This screening is a community screening with panel discussion to follow. The event will run 6:30-9:00pm. Full length documentary. Doors open at 6:00pm. Panel featuring John Wilson, Jr., Gary Erskine & Ted Green Tickets required in advance; open seating For the community screening, adult tickets are $10 and student tickets are $5. Carl Erskine, the man who is living a perfect game, will be brought to the big screen in Zionsville, Indiana with the showing of “The Best We’ve Got: The Carl Erskine Story.” With Erskine being such a pivotal figure in Special Olympics Indiana’s history, the organization has partnered with Ted Green Films to spread Erskine’s messages of friendship, inclusion, servant leadership, and respect. “The Best We’ve Got: The Carl Erskine Story,” premiered on the big screen Aug. 11 at the Paramount Theatre in Erskine’s hometown of Anderson. The film, produced by renowned filmmaker Ted Green, takes a deep dive into Erskine’s upbringing as a child and his legendary career in Major League Baseball with Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the color barrier in a sport that was segregated for more than 50 years. That is only a fraction of Erskine’s impact. The film will take viewers on Erskine’s most proud adventure when he and his wife, Betty, have their son Jimmy, who was born with Down syndrome, and will share their story and impact they’ve made on Special Olympics Indiana and social change across the country. Erskine has been referred to as many things. In the classic baseball novel “The Boys of Summer”, Erskine was referred to as a philosopher, a poet and an “existential man.” A New York sportswriter called him “the gentleman from Indiana.” Dennis Schmidt, former CEO of Special Olympics Indiana, said Erskine is the most decent man he’s ever met. Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, in giving Erskine the state’s highest honor, said simply, “He’s the best we’ve got.” In today’s world where animosity, ignorance, prejudice, and conflict are highlighted across social media and news outlets, Erskine’s story of acceptance and dignity is ready to be shared when the world needs it most. Being at the forefront of arguably two of the most important social movements the world has ever seen, Erskine’s impact on the nation is second to none. Green has dedicated many laborious hours over the years to inform the world about the life of one of the best humanity has to offer. This masterpiece will include powerful and inspirational interviews from some of the most respected figures around. Charley Steiner, multiple national Emmy winner at ESPN and the lead radio voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, narrates the documentary. The late Vin Scully, who spent 67 seasons calling games for the L.A. Dodgers, will be featured in the film. Other notable figures are Bob Costas, Governor Mitch Daniels, and Dr. Tim Shriver, son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and current chairperson of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors. In addition to this film, Special Olympics Indiana is proud to partner with award-winning filmmaker Ted Green in developing the Erskine Personal Impact Curriculum (EPIC). EPIC is a set of educational materials for elementary, middle, and high school students that has been released in the fall in conjunction with the film. More than 70,000 books have been ordered and shipped to 300 schools across the state of Indiana. The curriculum promotes social and emotional learning for every age level, using stories and experiences from Erskine’s life to create lessons and activities with themes including empowerment, friendship, inclusion, and servant leadership. Visit https://soindiana.org/epic/ to order a preview packet. To view a trailer of the movie or to learn more about Carl Erskine, please visit carlerskinefilm.com. # # # About Special Olympics Indiana Special Olympics Indiana is a nonprofit organization that is part of the global Special Olympics movement, created by the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation for the benefit of persons with intellectual disabilities. Its vision is an inclusive world, driven by the power of sport, through which people with intellectual disabilities live active, healthy, and fulfilling lives. # # # About Ted Green Films In 2010, Ted switched to filmmaking after 20 years as a newspaper journalist. Since then he has produced seven documentaries, most recently “Eva: A-7063.” Ted's work has won 21 regional Emmys (including Best Documentary for his past four films); first place in the national Associated Press Sports Editors contest; the Fourth Estate Award from the national American Legion; and the Dick Schaap Award of Excellence from the Center for the Study of Sports in Society at Northeastern University. His documentaries have screened on ESPN Classic, at film festivals around the world and at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He holds a B.A. from Princeton University and a Masters from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. More information at tedgreenfilms.com.