World premiere of Andrea Nevins’ Play It Forward, an intimate documentary on legendary tight end Tony Gonzalez and his family, to serve as Opening Gala

New York, NY – The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by AT&T, today announced the lineup for the ninth annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, sponsored by Mohegan Sun. This year’s program, which focuses on stories about athletes, teams and competition, includes documentary and narrative features, short films, and panel conversations with top athletes and filmmakers, as well as Sports Day at the annual Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair. The 2015 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will run from April 15-26, as part of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

Play It Forward, a documentary directed by Andrea Nevins, will have its world premiere on Thursday, April 16 as the opening gala of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival. The film observes the sibling dynamic during a pivotal year between legendary Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez and his older brother Chris, whose own football dreams were never realized. The documentary is produced by Cristan Reilly and executive produced by Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz.

“Play It Forward displays the competitive drive of two brothers, while expressing endless support for the other as they strive to achieve greatness their own way,” said Genna Terranova, TFF Festival Director. “The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival has always sought to showcase compelling and unique stories of competition, challenges and the passionate pursuits of glory.”

CBS Sports Analyst Tony Gonzalez of Play It Forward adds, “Our family and friends are what drives our journey both on and off the field. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue that journey at this year’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival with the world premiere of Play It Forward.”

Screening exclusively in front of all Sports Film Festival films will be one of two short films in the Marvel Entertainment and ESPN Film collaboration, 1 of 1: Origins. Told through narration and custom Marvel comic animation, each short from the series focuses on a single athlete and explores moments when, like all Marvel Super Heroes, athletes come to understand the origin of their powers. Travel back in time to see a 10-year-old Danica Patrick racing go-carts or Colin Kaepernick’s father teaching him an important lesson after a baseball game that did not go his way.

“We look forward to the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival each year because it gives us the chance to shine a spotlight on excellent storytelling whether it is an internal project from ESPN Films, or from an independent producer as is the case with Play It Forward from Andrea Nevins,” said Dan Silver, ESPN Films’ senior director of development. “There is no shortage of fascinating stories from the world of sports and we’re proud to have two new 30 for 30 films, Angry Sky and Down in the Valley, featured in the festival this year.”

Since its inception in 2006, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival has become the premier outlet to showcase independent films that focus on sports and competition. The feature films that will screen as part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival explore a wide array of topics including two brothers’ quest for football greatness, the historic saga of Sacramento and its favorite son fighting to pull off one of the greatest upsets in NBA history; a daredevil’s attempt to test the limits of outer space; a man’s transition into adulthood after he retires from the sport that he loves; an inside look at the world’s oldest horse race seen through a master vs. protégé championship battle; a bullfighter’s last shot at glory, a view of Cuba’s drag racing scene as racers prepare for the first sanctioned race in Cuba in more than 50 years; and a glimpse at the magic of baseball as told by 20 of the sport’s all-time greats. Short films that will screen as part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival examine some of the most discussed sports figures in modern history including Jesse Ventura, Nadia Comaneci, Jim Plunkett, Surya Bonaly, David Tyree, and more.

All of this year’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival films will screen throughout the day as ‘Sports Saturday’ on Saturday, April 25 at Regal Battery Park Stadium 11. The films will also screen throughout the Festival, prior to this date.

In addition to the film program, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will offer three Tribeca Talks: After the Movie events, a series of conversations where audiences view a film and then participate in a conversation after the screening with filmmakers, film subjects, and industry leaders. Among those participating in this year’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival conversations are Spike Lee, Eva Longoria, Nate Silver, and Retta. The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will also include Sports Day as part of the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair on Saturday, April 25. Sports Day gives sports fans an opportunity to enjoy a variety of free, sports-related games, and activities. Sports Day is free and open to the public and will take place on North Moore Street, between Greenwich and West Streets, in Manhattan.

For more on the 2015 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival please visit the website