‘The Spy Behind Home Plate’ – the latest from documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner – makes its debut

The last time documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner turned her cameras on the life of a Major League Baseball player, his exploits on the field were among his most noteworthy achievements.

Now, 19 years after “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg,” the Forest Hills resident is releasing “The Spy Behind Home Plate.” It tells the story of Moe Berg, the MLB-player turned World War 2 spy.

The film is premiering this weekend at the Avalon Theatre in Chevy Chase with a Q&A with the director at all but one screening (because she’s at Nats Park May 24th for a special pre-game appearance). And it will open at theaters nationwide beginning May 31st.

Kempner previously won critical acclaim for “Rosenwald” (2015), another of her “pattern of making documentaries about under-known Jewish heroes.”

Here’s the Avalon premiere schedule for “The Spy Behind Home Plate (and you can purchase tickets here):

May 24:
2:45pm – Introduction and Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner
7:45pm – Q&A with Editor Barbara Ballow

May 25:
5:15pm – Introduction and Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner and Hank Thomas, grandson of pitcher Walter Johnson
7:45pm – Introduction and Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner and OSS historian Harvey Solomon

May 26:
2:45pm – Introduction and Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner
5:15pm – Introduction by Director Aviva Kempner

May 27:
5:15pm – Introduction and Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner and Journalist George Solomon
7:45pm – Introduction and Q&A with Director Aviva Kempner