March 31, 2023
IGNITE featuring the Bragg Brothers
12:30 PM - 1:50 PM
CEMA 101
At this IGNITE, we will hear from the Bragg brothers speak about their debut feature, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game! Austin & Meredith Bragg will join the audience for a Q&A following the 7:30 p.m. screening of PINBALL at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center.
PINBALL: THE MAN WHO SAVED THE GAME
An unsettled writer with a fantastic mustache, Roger Sharpe, finds solace and confidence in one thing he has mastered: pinball. When a police raid destroys the only machines he can find in 1970s New York City, he learns the game is illegal. Roger reluctantly joins forces with the Music and Amusement Association to overturn the ban while falling in love with Ellen, an artist and single mother. Roger’s path to save pinball ultimately rescues him. He and Ellen overcome their pasts and take a shot at love. Roger learns what it means to take a chance—and that commitment is the most rewarding gamble of all. Based on a true story.
THE BRAGG BROTHERS
Brothers Austin and Meredith Bragg have spent years channeling their sibling rivalry into award-winning content. Most recently The Bragg Brothers wrote and directed the MPI Original comedic short A Piece of Cake starring Rich Sommer (Mad Men, GLOW), which was nominated for Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival and has gone on to win several awards, including Best Comedy and the Audience Choice Award in Comedy at the Oscar-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival, presented by Heartland Film. Previously, they sold their comedic web series, The Defenders of Stan, to Warner Bros. Television and co-wrote the pilot. In 2016 they won the HP Masters of Short Film competition at the Cannes Film Festival. As producers for Reason TV, their work has garnered three first place wins for Best Comedy at the Los Angeles Press Club Awards as well as a National Magazine Award nomination. The Braggs have produced projects for Turner Broadcasting, Visa, Atlas Obscura, AT&T, The Smithsonian, The Washington Post, Current TV, and two pilots for Warner Bros.’s online division.