For more than 80 years, women’s professional baseball has lived in the shadows. Now, as a new professional women’s baseball league prepares for its inaugural season, Firestarters follows three players at different stages of life who risk stability, health, and certainty to step onto the field without guarantees for the league’s success.

Filmed in real time, our documentary captures what it takes for each women to rise to this moment and help ignite a stronger future for girls and women in baseball.

Why This Story Matters?

Firestarters captures a once-in-a-generation moment: the launch of a professional women’s baseball league in America after more than 80 years. But more importantly, it personalizes that moment through the lives of three players at very different stages of life, each confronting what it means to pursue the sport they love at a time when new possibilities are finally igniting.

Ultimately, this is a story about more than baseball. It’s about the courage to pursue something uncertain, the resilience required to keep going when faced with adversity and limited opportunities, and the people willing to take the first step so others can follow.

Our Timeline

This project is already underway. I have established relationships with all three players, filming with one of them during the WPBL draft, and we have plans to film with all of them throughout the spring. Production will continue from now through May of 2026, with one additional shoot on the day of the league’s launch on August 1st, and post-production will begin in May and conclude at the end of August.

How Your Support Makes This Film Possible

Every contribution helps us document this inaugural chapter of the Women’s Professional Baseball League. Your support goes toward:

We are committed to using every dollar responsibly.

Who Are We?

Abby Cannon - Director

I am Abby Cannon. I'm an award-winning documentary filmmaker currently completing my MA in Film and Media Production at American University. During my time there, I directed In Her Court, a short documentary now streaming on WETA-PBS and screening at film festivals in 2026. That film deepened my commitment to telling stories that center women not as footnotes, but as protagonists.

I’ve always been drawn to stories about resilience, about people who keep showing up even when the world isn’t built for them. That pull is what led me to documentary filmmaking, and especially to women’s sports. There is something powerful about watching women claim space in arenas that have historically overlooked them.

Giovana Roskosz Reis - Director of Photography

Giovana is not only a close friend, but one of my most trusted collaborators. We met in the graduate film program at American University and quickly realized we shared the same passion for telling stories that inspire, educate, and bridge cultures.

Giovana directed Dear Ocean, an award-winning short documentary, and most recently helmed The Anatomy of the Soul, which was selected for streaming and broadcast on WETA, expanding her work to wider audiences. She was also the Director of Photography on my previous film, In Her Court, bringing such care and intention to the visual storytelling. We love building films together, and we’re excited to collaborate again on Firestarters!

Mira Celik - Producer

Mira is a Turkish filmmaker and MFA candidate in Film and Media Arts at American University. She has a background in film and advertising production, festival coordination, and visual storytelling. Her short films have screened at festivals including Cannes. Over the past two years, she has produced seven graduate thesis films and a PBS segment, gaining hands-on experience in creative development, logistics, and team coordination.

We are so happy to finally be collaborating on this project together!!

Our Players

STEPH

Stephanie Everett grew up playing baseball with boys, earning DC Area High School All-Star honors before injuries forced her away from the game. A decade later, she began training again for the Women’s Professional Baseball League, hoping this moment offers her the second chance she never expected to get.

KEIRA

Keira Izumi is a sophomore at USC who has played baseball since she was six years old. As the founder of the USC Women’s Club Baseball team and a coach for young girls’ baseball teams in LA, she represents the next generation working to expand the game while deciding how the sport she loves will fit into her future.

VAL

Valerie Perez is a retired firefighter, mother of three, member of the USA Women’s National Baseball Team, and head coach of the Firefighters Banana Ball team. As a leader on and off the field, she represents the players who have spent years building the game up and finally have a chance to play professional women’s baseball, a dream they once could only imagine.

Thank you to everyone who can donate or share this page!