Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Sugar, is a Dominican baseball player from San Pedro De Macorís struggling to make it to the major leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. He gets his big break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system and travels to a small town in Iowa to train and hopefully move up the ranks as a pitcher. Sugar’s talent on the mound is apparent, but when his performance begins to falter, he is forced to re-examine the world around him and his place within it. What starts out as a classic rags-to-riches sports story turns into a candid and complex examination of what it means for young athletes to chase their dreams. From the Dominican Republic to rural Iowa to New York City, Sugar’s bumpy journey offers a much different take on America's pastime than the average baseball movie.

The Film Society’s Artist in Residence program brings a filmmaker to San Francisco for a two-week residency. Filmmaker Anna Boden will present her film Sugar, network with local filmmakers and visit Bay Area high school and college classrooms.




The Artist-in-Residence program is made possible by a grant from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.


Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Photographed by Andrij Parekh. With Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland. (120 min. In English and Spanish with subtitles, Sony Pictures Classics)

Tickets $11 for SFFS members, $13 general, $12 senior/student/disabled.