Following the success of their freshman film, Half Nelson, a chilling film which garnered Ryan Gosling an Academy Award nomination, the second feature from Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Sugar, has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North American and Latin American Distribution rights from HBO Films.

Written and directed by Fleck and Boden, Sugar follows the story of Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Azucar, a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de Macoris, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at the Kansas City Knights baseball academy, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States' minor league system. Miguel travels from his tight knit community in the Dominican Republic to a small town in Iowa, corn country, where he and a couple of other Latin American teammates are the only Spanish-speaking people in the vicinity.

As Miguel struggles with the new language and culture, despite the welcoming efforts of his host family, he is faced with an isolation he never before experienced. When his play on the mound falters, he begins examining more closely the world around him and his place within it, and ultimately questions the single-mindedness of his life's ambition.

The film received critical praise when it screened in competition at Sundance, underscoring the performance of newcomer Algenis Perez Soto. Also starring are Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland, Michael Gaston, Jaime Tirelli, Jose Rijo, Ann Whitney, Richard Bull, Ellary Porterfield, Alina Vargas, Kelvin Leonardo Garcia and Joendy Pena Brown.