BFS: Double-Header: Las Pelotaris / Hit the Wall

TWO SHORT FILMS, ONE EVENT, LIVE PELOTA IMMEDIATELY AFTER

LAS PELOTARIS (2:00 p.m.):

‘Las pelotaris – A girls game’ is a short documentary film about women who play the Basque sport of pelota.
It is a story about a group of enthusiastic women who try to make, with enormous sacrifices, their way of life in a sport they feel true passion for: Pelota or Jai Alai. Despite their achievements in the court and championships, gaining recognition in a narrow universe predominantly ruled by and for men is hard for them.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

HIT THE WALL (2:30ish):

A new documentary exploring the world of GAA Handball, Hit the Wall follows our elite athletes through the highs and lows of their season, showcasing their unrelenting pursuit of excellence and the unique mental resilience required to compete at the highest level.

In the landscape of Irish sport, Handball is an island within an island. Once hugely popular, it has since fallen into obscurity. Today, the countryside is littered with abandoned alleys and crumbling old walls, the remains of a once great game whose time would appear to have passed. Less than 10,000 players remain. These athletes strive for immortality in a game most consider “dead”.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

LIVE PELOTA GAMES IN THE HANDBALL COURT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING:

There will be pelota games with both local players and players from the Basque Country. Free of charge.

STARTING AT 3:00 p.m.
Three Basque Pelota games in three different modalities.

1) Paleta goma (where players use a wooden paddle to hit a rubber ball),
2) Grand Chistera (similar to Jai-Alai, where players use a long, curved wicker basket called a chistera attached to their hand to catch and throw the ball. The basket allows the ball to be thrown at very high speeds and with dramatic curves), and
3) Basque handball (one of the oldest and most traditional forms of Basque Pelota, where players use only their bare hands to hit a small, hard ball against a wall).

THE AFTERS: BBQ DINNER, RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.

Finally, if you’re interested in staying for dinner after the pelota games, we’re going to direct you to the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center’s reservations page, which is RIGHT HERE.