This morning, the Milwaukee Film Festival announced its selections for a new sports-themed program, Sportsball!, as well as its new United States of Cinema program, a category dedicated to showcasing American independent cinema.

The chosen films for the former category – sponsored by OnMilwaukee – come co-programmed by former Milwaukee Brewers reliever and longtime Milwaukee Film supporter John Axford. 

"I am excited to continue my involvement with the Milwaukee Film Festival in an even bigger way as a co-programmer of Sportsball!" said Axford in a release. "This program boasts an incredible lineup of documentaries celebrating the sporting world across the globe. I’m personally excited about 'Fastball,' as I’ve hit 100 mph on the radar gun, but films like 'Speed Sisters' and 'The Legend of Swee’ Pea' are going to open really unique windows into different sporting worlds."

Here are the lineups for the Sportsball! and United States of Cinema categories:

Sportsball! program

"Fastball"

With the help of an all-star lineup – Tony Gwynn, Johnny Bench, Nolan Ryan, Goose Gossage and more – "Fastball" helps to demystify that most incredible of sporting encounters: a pitcher equipped with an arm that throws upward of 100 miles an hour facing off against a hitter who has only a millisecond to react before the ball reaches him. 

"Free to Run"

With the help of stars like Steve Prefontaine and Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon, "Free to Run" is a globetrotting sprint through the history of putting feet to pavement, tracking the transition of long-distance running from its origin on the margins of society to the universal passion it has become today.

"Keepers of the Game"

When the girls lacrosse team of Salmon River High takes the field for the Sectional Championships, it's far more than their cross-town rivals they're facing. They're also looking down history (seeking to become the first all-Native American girls squad to win it all), misogyny (lacrosse began as a solely male tradition in Native culture) and even apathy (their own small-town community appears ambivalent to their success and is cutting funding for girls lacrosse after the season) as opponents in their remarkable story. 

"The Legend of Swee’ Pea"

"The Legend of 'Swee' Pea" tells the story of Lloyd "Swee' Pea" Daniels, a playground legend that became one of the most sought-after college prospects in hoops history. Before playing a single game for UNLV, however, he was caught in a police sting operation, then later, a crack deal gone wrong saw him shot three times in the chest. Yet somehow Daniels, with shrapnel still in his body, ended up playing for the San Antonio Spurs five years later. 

"Speed Sisters"

Cutting their teeth on the toughest races in the West Bank and roaring through the breakneck pathways and hairpin turns of improvised tracks that comprise Palestine's makeshift motor circuit, the five charismatic thrill-seekers at the heart of the documentary "Speed Sisters" are the Middle East's first all-women street racing team, making them trailblazers both culturally and literally. Defying stereotypes and racking up wins in the male-dominated racing scene, they must overcome obstacles both physical and societal in order to pursue their high-octane passion. 

"When We Were Kings"

In honor of the iconic Muhammad Ali – as well as to celebrate the Academy Award-winning doc's 20-year anniversary – Milwaukee Film presents "When We Were Kings," profiling and digging deep into one of the most mesmerizing events in the history of sports: the Rumble in the Jungle between Ali and George Foreman.

United States of Cinema program

"11:55"

The timeless tension of "High Noon" is reimagined for our modern era in the gritty "11:55." Marine veteran Nelson Sanchez should be happy. Honorably discharged and finally back home within his Dominican community of Newburgh, NY, he appears set to start anew. But the life he left behind has come back to haunt him, in the form of a rival arriving by bus, five minutes before midnight, in search of revenge for his fallen brother. Tired of trading one violent environment for another, Nelson must take a stand if he is to survive the night – even if nobody stands beside him.

"AWOL"

Expanded from an award-winning 2011 Sundance short, "AWOL" follows aimless Joey, who on a trip to the Army recruiting office has a chance encounter with slyly seductive housewife Rayna. As Joey falls ever more deeply in love with Rayna, clouded judgment leads her down a path she can't turn back from. 

"Little Boxes"

An interracial couple – Nelsan Ellis ("True Blood") as a jazz-loving novelist/food critic and Melanie Lynskey as a photographer/art professor with a newly acquired tenure-track position – and their pre-teen son attempt to adapt to their new surroundings and to one another after moving across the country from Brooklyn to a "sea of white" in the suburbs of Washington state. 

"Operator"

Joe (Martin Starr, "Freaks and Geeks") is a data-obsessed computer programmer who discovers the perfect voice for the computer-operated helpline he's working on comes from a familiar place: his wife, Emily (Mae Whitman, "Arrested Development"). But as she continues to follow her own passions in improv comedy, Joe begins to rely on the computer-operating version of his wife for comfort and company. 

"Radio Dreams"

The actual band Kabul Dreams plays ... Kabul Dreams, Afghanistan's first rock band, in this comedy about the group and a San Francisco-based Iranian radio station waiting to potentially play in-studio with heavy metal legends Metallica. Will the jam session actually take place?

"A Stray"

Barkhad Abdirahman of "Captain Phillips" stars as a young Somali Muslim refugee living in Minnesota whose quest to turn his life around takes a sudden turn when he runs into a stray dog. Despite his religion's stance toward the animal as "impure," he finds himself feeling responsible for finding a place for the lost pup while at the same time trying to find a place for himself.

The Milwaukee Film Festival runs from Sept. 22 through Oct. 6.