The local father and son first time writing team of Michael Volpe and Andrew M. Volpe won the NOVA Jury Award for Best Screenplay at the Northern Virginia International Film & Music Festival (novafilmfest.com) for “The Free Agent Fan,” a true story about the quest of a lifelong baseball fan to find a new favorite MLB team to support.
When the senior Volpe’s favorite baseball team suddenly traded his favorite player, he declared himself a “Free Agent Fan” and went shopping for a new team. He visited with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Durham Bulls and other teams. His story was featured in People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, the New York Times, USA TODAY and on NPR, the “Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” the “CBS Morning News,” BBC, CNN and Fox News. The script depicts how Volpe was considered the “voice of baseball fans” by some quarters in the baseball world and a “publicity hog” by others.
In 2017, Filmmaker Andrew M. Volpe produced an entertaining 20-minute home video, also called “The Free Agent Fan,” about his father’s baseball odyssey which can be viewed at crookedfoxesproductions.com, Volpe’s production company website. The video contains a narration of how the “Free Agent Fan” phenomena occurred, interspersed with videos of major media interviews, print articles and original animation by the younger Volpe. His video has won a handful of film festival awards, including Best Documentary and Audience Choice.
Besides his company, Andrew also works as a video producer and editor for a Virginia-based developer and marketer of expertly produced video and audio courses provided by professors and experts. He is a graduate of Bishop O’Connell High School (2005) and Virginia Commonwealth University (2009) and grew up in Falls Church. Michael Volpe retired from the Federal government in 2014 and resides in Falls Church.
