Tough Out

Tough Out, an inspiring, heartwarming documentary released Nov 11, would be one of the biggest surprises for film buffs over the past year.

Directed by young filmmaker Xu Huijing, the film follows a group of boys with their parents either dead, missing, or in prison, who learn to play baseball at a charity program in Beijing and then form a team to compete in the US.

Premiering at the 2020 FIRST International Film Festival, a national platform spotlighting emerging filmmakers, Tough Out took home the Best Documentary and Audience Choice awards.

On Douban, China's version of Rotten Tomatoes, the film has so far notched up 8.7 points out of 10, making it the site's highest-rated Chinese-language documentary in 2020.