GAMES WE USED TO PLAY

August 2022

Short Film — Horror

Writers — Maddie Cardarelli, Katie Elle Weinstein

Director — Maddie Cardarelli

Director of Photography — Michael Feder

Assistant Camera and Boom Operator Assistant - Dylan Markulec

Production Sound — Thomas Sherman

Production Assistant - Cricket Brown

Editor — Katie Elle Weinstein

Score — Bella Litsa

Colorist — Robindeep Singh

Post-Production Sound — Eamon Redpath

Graphics — Isabella Gonzalez

Cast — Katherine Reis & Katie Elle Weinstein

Logline: When two childhood friends sit down for a summertime picnic, neither expect that their meal will trigger a horrific allergic reaction and the violent breakdown of their friendship.

Production Overview: Wanting to create a horror short film in the summer of 2022, Cardarelli and Weinstein virtually met to discuss what their collaboration might look like. Since New Jersey is quite bucolic in the summertime, Weinstein mentioned creating something similar to Agnes Varda’s Le Bonheur, a film that has been described as a “horror film wrapped in sunflowers”. Coincidentally, this was Cardarelli’s favorite Varda film. Cardarelli then offered exploring a toxic childhood friendship by following two friends as their relationship falls apart. The two creators began brainstorming what the horrific aspect of the film could be, and Weinstein, having severe allergies herself, suggested an allergic reaction triggering the downfall. After their first meeting, Cardarelli and Weinstein had nearly mapped out the entire short. They took turns writing the script and quickly assembled a small collective to collaborate with. GAMES WE USED TO PLAY, while about the loss of a friendship, is a testament to Cardarelli and Weinstein’s creative partnership.