TRAILERS

First Trailer for 'The Silent Natural' Film About a Deaf Baseball Player

by Alex Billington
July 24, 2020
Source: YouTube

"He made thousands of fans cheer, but never heard one." Freestyle Digital Media has released an official trailer for an indie sports biopic titled The Silent Natural, a feature film about the one of the first Deaf Major League Baseball players in the 1800s. This premiered at film festivals last year, and arrives on VOD next month. Miles Barbee stars as William Hoy, who loved baseball despite being deaf and being smaller than most players (at 5'4"). After two years in the Minor Leagues, Hoy signs with the Washington Senators in 1888 and leads the National League with 82 stolen bases in his rookie year. Being deaf, he introduced the hand signals for strike and ball to the game and overcame many obstacles to become one of the greatest players of his time. The full cast includes Vernon Wells, Tyler Mane, Sam J. Jones, Courtney Gains, Marshall R. Teague, Anne Lockhart, Sheree J. Wilson, Richard Herd. What an inspirational story.

Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for David Risotto's The Silent Natural, direct from YouTube:

At the age of 24, William Hoy grabs his spikes and boards a train headed for the Minor League team in Oshkosh. His professional baseball career has begun. Despite his diminutive size (5'4”, 148 pounds) and him being Deaf, he demonstrates explosive speed and a powerful arm. But Hoy faces challenges far and above those of a “normal” new prospect. Unable to hear calls of the umpire, Hoy communicates with his third-base coach who relates the calls by signing. After two years in the Minor Leagues, Hoy signs with the Washington Senators in 1888 and leads the National League with 82 stolen bases in his rookie year. He becomes the First Deaf Major League Baseball Star. The Silent Natural is both written and directed by American filmmaker David Risotto, making his feature directorial debut after a few short films and other production work previously. This premiered at the Victory Film Festival last year. Freestyle DM will release Risotto's The Silent Natural direct-to-VOD in the US starting August 25th this summer. Who's interested?

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