IT TAKES AN ISLAND

Like most independent films, BOYS OF SUMMER, a feature documentary premiering this week at the HBO New York International Latino Film Festival, was made with the help of friends and family. In this case, however, an entire island pitched in.

Directed by first-time filmmaker Keith Aumont, BOYS OF SUMMER is the story of a Little League Baseball team from Curaçao, a tiny Caribbean island that has sent a team to the Little League World Series for nine consecutive years, despite economic and social disadvantages. Aumont – a New Yorker who married a Curaçao native – had the idea to follow the team for a season and find out what makes them so successful year after year. The first partner to pledge financial support to the project was the Curaçao Tourist Board, without seeing a minute of footage or requesting any creative input. Seven local banks and businesses followed, providing the bulk of the shooting budget. While Keith filmed for five months in Curaçao, government agencies cleared his way through customs and made introductions for him, including arranging an interview with the Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister, Emily de Jongh-Elhage.

During the editing phase of the film, the American-based production team realized they had over 300 hours of footage, mostly in a language they didn’t speak. The language of Curaçao is Papiamentu, a dialect spoken widely on only three islands in the world – Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. Through word-of-mouth and social networking, the producers gathered a team of volunteers from around the world who painstakingly translated clips of footage that were emailed out in 5-10 minute chunks. Now that BOYS OF SUMMER is having its festival premiere in New York, Curaçao is eager to help again. The Tourist Board is hosting a reception for the film in Manhattan and promoting the film’s release.

In the end, the question about why the team keeps making it back to the Little League World Series seems to be answered by the support of their close-knit community rallying behind them. It’s the same force that helped lift BOYS OF SUMMER from the ball field to the big screen. The island of Curaçao was once one of the largest slave depots in the Caribbean under Dutch rule. Today, as the country gains autonomy from the Netherlands, the accomplishments of their children inspire the pride of a nation. Curaçao’s smallest ambassadors have put their country on the map for more than beautiful beaches and blue liquor. Now the global Curaçao community – from the Caribbean to America to Europe – is embracing the film that tells their story.

For more information at http://boysofsummerfilm.com/videos.html>