We are thrilled to share the release of RALLY CAPS: The MOVIE available on VOD everywhere on September 10th! Rally Caps is a heartwarming coming-of-age story that celebrates the strength found in friendship and the ability within disability.

Starring Academy Award Nominee Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans), Carson Minniear (Palmer), and Amy Smart (StarGirl), RALLY CAPS is a film written and directed by Lee Cipolla. Based on real events and adapted from the book by Stephen J. Cutler and Jodi Michelle Cutler, this touching story follows Jordy, a young boy who is injured during a Little League baseball tryout. At a summer camp, he forms a deep bond with Lucas, a deaf boy who has recently undergone Cochlear Implant surgery. Together, as a pitcher/catcher duo, they lead their team to victory in the camp championship game.

This short video features two stars of the movie talking about their hearing loss and the important message that “it’s ok to be different and everyone is special in their own way.” Visit Rally Caps for more information on the movie and resources on cochlear implants.

ACI Alliance is proud to support the film, Rally Caps. The film is based on the book written by Jodi Michelle Cutler and Stephen J. Cutler, inspired by Jodi’s experience as a mother to a son with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and a cochlear implant. ACI Alliance was pleased to provide informational support for the public on cochlear implants, which is posted on the  film’s website. The film premiered at the Heartland International Film Festival (HIFFF) in October 2022.

The film features a young baseball player who has his dreams of pitching for a little league travel team derailed by a devastating injury on the field. After a long recovery process, he goes off to sleep-away camp where he befriends a deaf catcher who helps him overcome his fear of returning to the mound. 

Rally Caps will increase awareness of cochlear implants to a broad audience, but more importantly normalizes cochlear implants as a part of a character’s story rather than making a character’s deafness the story.