GRAND SLAM EVENTS LAUNCH THE CLEVELAND OPENING OF “HEADING HOME: THE TALE OF TEAM ISRAEL” STARTS JUNE 21 at CEDAR LEE THEATRE Opening Weekend features Autograph Signings and Q&A with Cleveland Indians Officer / Former MLB Slugger Nate Freiman and Cleveland Broadcaster Les Levine, plus Giveaways and More (Cleveland, OH) Moviegoers are in for a treat starting June 21st with the launch of the award-winning documentary HEADING HOME: THE TALE OF TEAM ISRAEL at Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH). To celebrate the film’s opening weekend, beloved former MLB slugger Nate Freiman (currently working in the Cleveland Indians’ front office as an Assistant in Baseball Operations) and legendary Cleveland sportscaster Les Levine will meet moviegoers for Q&A and autograph signings on Friday, June 21st. In addition, there will be special Team Israel gift giveaways and opportunities for photos with the Team Israel mascot “The Mensch on a Bench” all weekend long. This “David vs Goliath” story takes the audience on a behind-the-scenes look at the Israeli national baseball team’s run during the 2017 World Baseball Classic. After years of defeat, Team Israel is finally ranked among the world's best in 2017, eligible to compete in the prestigious international tournament. Their line-up included several Jewish American Major League players ― Ike Davis, Josh Zeid and ex-Braves catcher Ryan Lavarnway ― most with a tenuous relationship to Judaism, let alone having ever set foot in Israel. Their odyssey takes them from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they are greeted as heroes, to Seoul where they must debunk their has-been, wannabe reputations. With their Mensch on the Bench mascot by their side, the team laughs, cries, and does much soul-searching, discovering the pride of representing Israel on the world stage. Nate Freiman and Les Levine will join audiences for Q&A and autographs following the 7:15pm show on Friday, June 21st. Nate Freiman is a former MLB first baseman with the Oakland Athletics. Freiman holds Duke University's career home run record, and the school's second-highest all-time batting average. In December 2012, the Astros picked Freiman in the Rule 5 draft and added him to their 40-man roster. In March 2013, the Athletics claimed him off waivers, and he made his major league debut for the Athletics the following month. Freiman was voted American League Rookie of the Month for May 2013, and for the season he batted .274. Freiman played first base for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in the main tournament, in March 2017. In what NBC reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) Freiman walked against the 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) pitcher Loek van Mil of the Netherlands during the first round. In the tournament, he batted .273/.429/.636 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs, scoring 7 runs and driving in 6 RBIs in 22 at bats. Freiman announced his retirement from professional baseball at the age of 31 on March 10, 2018, and shortly thereafter accepted a position as Assistant in the Baseball Operations department of the Cleveland Indians organization. Les Levine has had a 50+ year esteemed career covering sports on radio and television in Cleveland. He has been on the air virtually every weekday since 1989 on WERE and WHK Radio, on SportsChannel, Cablevision, Adelphia, Time Warner and Spectrum Sports. He currently free lances on 92.3 The Fan and is the Vice President of the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. Les has done TV play-by-play for over 2,000 events, including Kent State basketball and football, Cleveland State basketball, Cleveland Crusaders hockey, Cleveland Thunderbolts Arena Football, and hundreds of high school games. Additionally, he is a weekly Award Winning Sports Columnist for the Cleveland Jewish News, an Ohio Radio and Television Hall of Fame Inductee, and recently was named by Cleveland.com as one of Cleveland’s Top 100 Cleveland Radio Personalities in History. Ryan Lewis of Ohio.com features the film’s Cleveland connections: “ Tyler Krieger, an infielder in the Indians’ system who is currently at Triple-A Columbus, played for Team Israel. As did Nate Freiman, who is now an assistant in the Indians’ baseball operations department. And Brad Goldberg, who grew up in Beachwood and is now with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization, pitched for Team Israel.” HEADING HOME: THE TALE OF TEAM ISRAEL begins its open-ended theatrical run starting Friday, June 21st at Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights. For showtimes and advance tickets, visit <http://www.ironboundfilms.com/headinghome> clevelandcinemas.com.<http://www.ironboundfilms.com/headinghome> To view the trailer go to: www.MenemshaFilms.com # # #