Thank You For Playing

A documentary film by David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall.

When one-year-old Joel is diagnosed with terminal cancer, his father Ryan begins working on an unusual and poetic video game to honor Joel's life. Following Ryan's family through the creation of the game and the day-to-day realities of Joel’s treatment, Thank You For Playing is a thought-provoking testimony to the empathetic power of art, examining how we process grief through technology in the twenty-first century, and the implications of documenting profound human experiences in a new artistic medium: the video game.

PRESS

PRAISE FOR THE FILM

"UNIMAGINABLY INTIMATE."
- THE NEW YORKER

"TOUCHING, FUNNY AND STRANGELY EXISTENTIAL."
- THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"COMPELLING. TRANSFORMS A FATHER'S CONFESSION INTO A REVEALING WORK OF ART." 
- THE VILLAGE VOICE

"IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT VIDEOGAME MOVIE EVER MADE." 
- UNWINNABLE

"COMPELLING. POIGNANT. AN EMOTIONAL PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY TRAGEDY. THE MOVIE MAY IMMORTALIZE A CREATIVE ENDEAVOR, BUT IT NEVER LOSES SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT IT’S ALSO HONORING A LIFE." 
- VARIETY

"POWERFUL... FASCINATING... A REMARKABLE WINDOW INTO UNIVERSAL CHALLENGES THROUGH A DISTINCTLY 21ST CENTURY FILTER."
- INDIEWIRE (Memo To Distributors: Buy These 10 Tribeca Film Festival Movies, by Eric Kohn)

"A BEAUTIFUL, TRAGIC ATTEMPT TO PRESS PAUSE... THE MOST MEMORABLE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT VIDEO GAME PRODUCTION EVER MADE."
- ARS TECHNICA

"AN INTIMATE LOOK AT ONE FAMILY'S HEARTBREAK,
AND HOW THEIR ART MOVES PEOPLE."
- THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

"AN EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT... AN UNPRECEDENTED AND FASCINATING FUSION BETWEEN THE FORMS. "
- FOUR THREE FILM

"A MATURE MEDITATION ON THE ORDEAL OF TRAGEDY,
AND ART'S CAPACITY FOR HELPING US PROCESS IT."
- THE DAILY BEAST

"ELEGANT, HEART-WRENCHING."
- NATIONAL POST

"PROFOUNDLY MOVING... [THIS] REMARKABLE FILM ACCOMPLISHES THE IMPOSSIBLE: IT AVOIDS EASY SENTIMENTALITY."
- INDIEWIRE (10 Top Docs at the Tribeca Film Festival, by Anthony Kaufman)

"CAPTURES AN ARTIST'S COMPULSION TO CREATE A MEANINGFUL AESTHETIC WORK CONSTRUCTED OUT OF THE JOY AND RUIN OF HIS OWN LIFE."
- VICE

"A COMPLEX MEDITATION ON NONFICTION ART."
- NONFICS / FILM SCHOOL REJECTS (The 8 Best Documentaries of Tribeca Film Festival)

"VIDEO GAME MOVIES AREN'T ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL, THOUGH THIS ONE
WILL DEFINITELY AND UNDOUBTEDLY REACH ONE'S HEART."
- USA TODAY

"VITALLY IMPORTANT. AS AN EXPLORATION OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT,
[THANK YOU FOR PLAYING] IS INDISPENSABLE."
- SCREEN COMMENT

"TRULY IMPORTANT AND THOUGHTFULLY CRAFTED."
- REEL NEWS DAILY

"AN EXTRAORDINARY DOCUMENTARY FILLED WITH HUMANITY, HONESTY, CREATIVITY, AND UNFORCED SENTIMENTALITY."
- CUT PRINT FILM

"AN INTELLIGENT, BRAVE AND AUTHENTIC MEDITATION
ON GRIEF AND THE ARTISTIC PROCESS."
- THE UPCOMING

"A DEEPLY MOVING FILM ABOUT THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE
AND ITS PLACE WITHIN INTERACTIVE ART."
- FILM INQUIRY REVIEW

TODAY.COM and TIME MAGAZINE cover the premiere of Thank You For Playing at the Tribeca Film Festival.