PIN GODS
Q&A with director Larry Locke
Inspired by the record breaking accomplishments of Walter Ray Williams, Jr., the reigning professional bowler of the year, three newcomers set out to chase their own dreams of pro bowling greatness. Undaunted by the sport’s relegation to the back pages of sports sections, its television heyday long passed, Tony Rosamalia, a 23 year-old tour rookie from New Jersey, joins fellow rookie Anton Sonny Pavelchak from upstate New York and sophomore wonder, Bob Vespi on the nationwide Professional Bowlers Tour.
The tour grinds through bowling alleys and cheap hotels from Southern California, across the wintery heart of the Midwest, on its way to the sport’s culminating event at the Mecca of bowling, Erie, Pennsylvania. The bowlers battle inexperience, self-doubt, loneliness, financial troubles and the over optimistic expectations of family members who must foot the bill. And always there is the supremely talented Walter Ray. He is ever a step ahead, relentless in his pursuit of becoming the greatest bowler ever to step on a set of lanes.
By season’s end the road has taken its toll. Only one newcomer staggers into the final stop, the tour’s Superbowl of bowling in Erie. But there, in a surprising turn of events, that last bowler standing earns his stripes, literally turning defeat into a personal victory. For him the dream of becoming a Pin God lives on.
Running time: 82 minutes
Release date: 1996
Screened: May 04, 2010 8:00 pm
Tell a friend about this film
Join the STF Mailing List »
Upcoming Screenings
Feb 7: UNFINISHED SPACES
by Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray“Cuba will count as having the most beautiful academy of arts in the world.” —Fidel Castro (1961) Cuba’s ambitious National Art Schools project, designed by three young artists in the wake of ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Feb 14: ZELIG
by Woody Allen”[Allen’s] new, remarkably self-assured comedy is to his career what… Berlin Alexanderplatz is to Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s and… Fanny and Alexander is to Ingmar Bergman’s ... Zelig is not only ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Feb 21: TOOTIE’S LAST SUIT
by Lisa Katzman“Tootie represented a kind of soulfulness in the community, and a certain type of style, and everybody loved him.” – Wynton Marsalis TOOTIE’S LAST SUIT explores the complex relationships, rituals, ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Feb 28: THE PROMISE: THE MAKING OF DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
by Thom ZimnyDescription from TIFF 2010 catalog by Thom Powers: The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town takes us into the studio with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band for the recording of ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Mar 6: SMASH HIS CAMERA
by Leon Gast“Famously and successfully sued by Jackie Onassis, and slugged just as famously and successfully by Marlon Brando, denounced from the pulpits of punditry for decades, Galella has been a man easy to ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Mar 13: THE MAN NOBODY KNEW: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER, CIA SPYMASTER WILLIAM COLBY
by Carl ColbyA son’s riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, THE MAN NOBODY KNEW: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER, CIA SPYMASTER WILLIAM COLBY uncovers the secret world of a legendary ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
Mar 20: GIRL MODEL
by Ashley Sabin and David Redmon Description from TIFF 2011 catalog by Thom Powers: Girl Model shows a rarely seen side of the fashion industry. The film brings a novelist’s eye for emotional and psychological complexity to its ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »
