Michelle and Barack Obama are teaming up with double Oscar winner and Kyle Thrash for The Turnaround, a short documentary that will make its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.
The film tells a remarkable story from the sporting world that suggests Philadelphia, indeed, deserves to be called the City of Brotherly Love. Thrash, a Philly native, shares directing duties with Proudfoot (The Last Repair Shop, The Queen of Basketball). Higher Ground, the former president and first lady’s production company, partner with Proudfoot’s Breakwater Studios, Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios (a DICK’S Sporting Goods company), and Major League Baseball to present the film, which bows on Sunday at the festival.
Trea Turner’s name goes up in the Phillies’ locker room.
Breakwater Studios
“The Turnaround follows Jon McCann, a proud Philadelphian who struggles with his mental health. Jon is equal parts unruly and reverent when it comes to his beloved baseball team, the Philadelphia Phillies, who he covers religiously on his YouTube channel where he is known as The Philly Captain,” notes a description of the documentary. “When the team’s big new acquisition ($300M over 11 years), Trea Turner, who had just signed one of the biggest contracts in MLB history, enters a downward spiral despite the city’s sky high hopes for him, the infamous fans turn against him, fervidly booing their own player (a time-honored Phillies tradition). Jon, who is from the Bridesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia and intimately knows the ways in and out of despair from his mental health crises, has a contrary impulse – don’t boo, give Trea a standing ovation. His suggestion goes viral, inspiring a stunning 42,000 person ovation that would change the trajectory of Trea, the Phillies, and maybe even Philadelphia, forever.”
Proudfoot produces, alongside Nicholas Ruff (The Mad Whale) and Josh Rosenberg (The Last Repair Shop). Executive producers include Higher Ground’s Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Vinnie Malhotra and Ethan Lewis; Proudfoot, Thrash and Jake Bloch for Breakwater Studios; Rebecca Covington and Mark Rooks for Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios, and Nick Trotta for MLB Studios.
Trea Turner runs the base paths in a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on August 24, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ed Zurga/Getty Images
“Having grown up in the Philadelphia area and being a lifelong Phillies fan myself, I am in awe of how brilliantly Kyle and Ben have captured the heart and soul of the city,” said Vinnie Malhotra, president of Higher Ground. “With such a unique and rarely seen perspective into a story that will go down in baseball history, The Turnaround will take you through a range of emotions and delves into the emotional core of mental health of both our beloved players and the legions of fans who rally everyday to champion them. Higher Ground is so proud to partner with Breakwater Studios, and to be a part of this beautiful, touching, and memorable film.”
In a statement, Thrash and Proudfoot said, “Jon’s is an American story for our time. We all have a choice of how we want to approach the world around us and all its challenges. Do you boo? Or do you give all the love you can give? Jon’s answer inspired us to make this film.”
They add, “As filmmakers, we are beyond honored to partner with President and Mrs. Obama and Higher Ground to bring this important and timely story to audiences everywhere, and we are incredibly grateful to premiere this film for the first time at Telluride Film Festival.”
Kris Bowers (L) and Ben Proudfoot at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado in 2023.
Matthew Carey
Proudfoot came to Telluride last year to debut The Last Repair Shop, which he directed with Kris Bowers. The short documentary went on to win the Oscar earlier this year, the second of Proudfoot’s career. In 2022 he won his first Academy Award, for the short documentary The Queen of Basketball. Proudfoot and Bowers earned an Oscar nomination in 2021 for their nonfiction short A Concerto Is a Conversation.
Higher Ground, which has a deal with Netflix, produced the Oscar-winning documentary feature American Factory, as well as the Oscar-nominated doc feature Crip Camp. Malhotra joined Higher Ground as president last year after successful stints at Showtime and CNN Films.
The Turnaround was edited by Dillon M. Hayes and photographed by David Bolen; Ari Balouzian composed the original score.