OF ALL THE GAMES

Written by Ellis Bahl

Feature film spec. Winner/Finalist in twelve screenplay competitions. In the top 4% of all projects on coverfly.com.

OF ALL THE GAMES was written in response to losing a significant chunk of my life to the video game Overwatch. I became fascinated by the polarity within the nascent pro-gaming scene. On the one hand, there are 19 year olds signing multimillion-dollar deals to play video games and twitch streamers making millions per month in ad revenue. On the other side of the spectrum, video game addiction is a very real and mostly unseen force wreaking havoc on untold lives.

This film focuses on a young woman competing in an esports competition. Through this lens, it criticizes the rampant misogyny and gender disparity within esports. My desire for the video game world to be more equitable and to do better stems first from my love of video games. Meredith is also confined to a wheelchair and so naturally the script explores the conflicting psychological impacts of being disabled in a very ableist world.  

In the course of writing, two characters emerged, a sister and a brother, who quite frankly, I fell in love with.

Meredith wants to find a sense of independence and a return to her perceived former glory. Sasha wants the best for Meredith, but they don’t see eye to eye on how life should be lived. They both have smart, valid ideas about the world of esports and about how to be happy, but they’re each too stubborn and hunker down in their respective corners too fervently.

Importantly, while this film explores heavy real world topics, the experience is going to be fun. It’s going to be a fun movie to make and a fun movie to watch. I am of the conviction that movies can (and should!) both entertain and enlighten. It is my strongest passion to bring simultaneously dark and playful storytelling to the screen.

Will you join me?