
Batkid Begins
2015, Color, 87 minutes, HD
Edited and Sound Designed by Kurt Kuenne
Written by Dana Nachman & Kurt Kuenne
Directed by Dana Nachman
Available on DVD, iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, and Vudu
Purchase the Film:
DVD:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Digital:
iTunes | Amazon Prime |
Google Play | Vudu
Winner of 5 Audience Awards
“I once again found myself crying at the end of a Kurt Kuenne movie, but this time it was a good cry. A proud cry.
The kind of cry we should all experience more often.” – Erik Davis, Movies.com
“The ultimate feel-good story. Though it is easy to contrast ‘Batkid Begins’ with ‘Dear Zachary’ – tears of heartache are replaced with tears of joy – both films are about coming out of the other side of tragedy with a positive outlook for the future and rewarding the often thankless task
of being a great parent.” – Erik Childress, RogerEbert.com
“‘Batkid’ is no syrupy valentine to the angels of our better natures. It shows our better natures. We can see them right there on the silver screen…it won’t change our world. But it could change us. Then we can improve the world. Batman would like that.” – Dann Gire, Chicago Daily Herald
Synopsis
One child. One wish. Millions touched. Who would have thought a 5-year-old boy who fought leukemia would transform a city and a nation for a day? No one. Not his family. Not his friends. Not the thousands of volunteers who came from near and far to help make his wish come true. But it did.
Batkid Begins is a documentary that takes you back to November 15th, 2013, the day San Francisco turned into Gotham City, and the day the internet was nice. More than a billion people took to social media to cheer on BatKid, even President Obama! In all, the #SfBatKid and #BatKid hashtags reached more than 1.84 Billion people on Twitter and Instagram. This wish and this little caped crusader resonated with so many people, including us, and we wanted to find out why.
Theatrical Trailer
Festivals and Awards
- Slamdance Film Festival
- Cinequest Film Festival – Opening Night Film – Winner, Audience Award
- Omaha Film Festival – Winner, Audience Award
- Cleveland International Film Festival
- Port Townsend Women in Film Festival
- Ashland Independent Film Festival – Winner, Audience Award
- Dallas Film Festival – Winner, Audience Award
- Rincon International Film Festival – Winner, Audience Award
- San Francisco International Film Festival – Schools at the Festival Program
- Chicago Critics Film Festival
- SF Doc Fest
- Bentonville Film Festival
- Portland Film Festival – Closing Night Film
- Winner, CINE Golden Eagle, Best Independent Feature Documentary
Reviews
- Slashfilm: “Batkid Begins”: An Uplifting and Important Documentary About Everyone’s Favorite Batman
- Movies.com: You Have No Idea How Good “Batkid Begins” Will Make You Feel
- RogerEbert.com: Slamdance 2015
- Hollywood Reporter: “Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World“
- ScreenInvasion.com: “Batkid Begins” is an Awesome Display of Human Decency
- F This Movie!: “Batkid Begins”: Chicago Critics Film Festival Review
- Geeks of Doom: “Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World”
- Chicago Daily Herald: “Batkid” Harnesses the Power of a Documentary
- Deadline Hollywood: “Batkid Begins” Review: A Superhero Wish Becomes The Feel Good Movie Of The Year
- The Wrap: “Batkid Begins” Review: A Heroic Boy Rescues a City, and Vice Versa, in Stirring Documentary
- Wired: “Batkid Begins” Will Win Over Even The Biggest Cynic
- Cinema Blend: “Batkid Begins”
- San Jose Mercury News: “Batkid Begins” as heartwarming as the Make-A-Wish event itself
- Movieguide: “Batkid Begins”
- io9: The Batkid Documentary Will Melt Your Heart in the Name of Justice
- SFist: The Day Cynicism Took A Holiday: “Batkid Begins”
- The Popcorn Reel: A Hero Rises in San Francisco, and He’s Not a Giant
- We Got This Covered: “Batkid Begins” Review
- Common Sense Media: “Batkid Begins” Movie Review
- HollywoodChicago.com: Miraculous “Batkid Begins” Can Save Us All
Features
- Deadline: “Batkid Begins” Draws Poster Icon Drew Struzan Out of Retirement
- Deadline: Julia Roberts to Produce, Star in Batkid Movie
- Hollywood Reporter: From Batkid to Mountain Gorillas, Hollywood is Turning Hot Docs into Features
- Variety: New Line Nabs ‘Batkid’ Documentary Distribution, Future Film Rights
- Thompson on Hollywood: Julia Roberts Will Make Audiences Cry in Doc Remake “Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around The World”
- Deadline: “Batkid Begins” Documentary Set for Summer Release
- Yahoo: 2015 Summer Movie Preview: Our 30 Most Anticipated Films (#15)
- Huffington Post: “Batkid Begins” Trailer Tugs At The Heartstrings
- PopSugar.com: 9 Big-Screen Summer Movies That the Whole Family Can Get Excited About
- CBS News: Summer indie films could bust box office blockbusters
- MoviePilot.com: Why “Batkid Begins” is the Batman movie to see
- Variety: “Batkid Begins” Reveals Boy Behind the Mask, Team Behind the Boy
- SFGate: How “Batkid” caper became epic day in S.F.
- CBS San Francisco: Feel Good Movie of the Year “Batkid Begins” Gets a Red-Carpet Welcome in San Francisco
- The Wrap: “Batkid Begins” Hits Theaters and Warner Bros. Feels Like a Million Bucks
- The Movie Guys: Genesis (w/Kurt Kuenne)
- Asbury Park Press: Editor Kurt Kuenne on “Batkid Begins”
- Academy Conversations: “Batkid Begins”
- AwardsCircuit.com: “Dear Zachary” Documentary Director Kurt Kuenne on Editing “Batkid Begins”