In 1934, with war on the horizon, a group of American baseball all-stars traveled to Japan for an exhibition tour. Imagine Babe Ruth’s surprise when he faced off against Japan’s best pitcher, the 17-year-old Russian giant Victor Starffin. After fleeing the Russian Revolution as a child, Victor was labeled a gaijin, a permanent outsider and stateless émigré. Even Victor’s unprecedented success in Japanese baseball was not enough to save him from a life marred by persecution, culminating in his placement in a “westerner internment camp” during WWII.
Today his two daughters live worlds apart – Liz in America and Natasha in Japan. As they reunite after 42 years to uncover the mysteries of their father's life, they take us on a wild ride of shifting identities, international rivalries, tragic love, and one heck of a fastball.
The director of the project was twice nominee and winner of the Emmy Award Chavdar Georgiev. The historical film was produced by Trikita Entertainment and WISH Media with the support of 123 Production and TV3. Filming for two years took place in Japan, the USA and Russia, more than 15 animators from different countries worked on the project.
Tchavdar Georgiev is an Emmy-winner. He directed the 2 times Emmy-nominee “The Desert of Forbidden Art” (PBS IL). He edited the 2 times Emmy-nominee "Valentine Road" (Sundance, Hot Docs, HBO), 3 times Emmy nominee and 1 Winner “Belly of The Beast” (Doc NYC, PBS IL), “The American Meme” (Tribeca, Hot Docs, Netflix Original), “Larry Flynt for President” (Tribeca, Hot Docs) and “Finders Keepers" (Sundance, Hot Docs, Netflix). He wrote and produced “Off The Rails” (Doc NYC, Hot Docs) and "Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man" (Hot Doc, Winner Docs For Schools Audience Award, DOC NYC). He is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts, Artslink and Open Society Institute Grants and a member of the American Cinema Editors (ACE).
