SYNOPSIS

Ten year old Maxine Kuftinec (known as Max by one and all) lives in Greenwich Village, with her overworked parents and her little sister. Max is happily ensconced at her local public school, but when the opportunity arises for her to switch to the Blackstone Academy, a prestigious uptown all-girls private school, she feels obliged to do so.

Max doesn't fit in immediately at the Blackstone Academy, amidst the privileged girls who get picked up in giant black SUV's every day. She stops by the chess club one day, thinking that someone there can teach her how to play - but she is humiliated by Isabella, the alpha girl among her new classmates (and Max's nemesis), who quickly ascertains Max's ignorance, and publicly ridicules her for it.

Eventually, at the Washington Square chess boards, she meets a grizzled codger named Norman who may be able to help her, in learning both how to play chess and how to deal with her new life. But Norman's way of teaching her is very... unusual.

CAST

Makenna Ballard

(Max Kuftinec)

Makenna Ballard (Max Kuftinec)

A native of Northern California, Makenna is making her film debut with A Little Game. She also starred in Somewhere Fun at the Vineyard Theater, alongside Kathleen Chalfant and Kate Mulgrew.

F. Murray Abraham

(Norman Wallach)

F. Murray Abraham (Norman Wallach)

Murray is best known for his Academy Award-winning performance as Salieri in Amadeus. He's also known for his roles in The Name of the Rose, Scarface, and Star Trek: Insurrection, and recently in Inside Llewyn Davis and The Grand Budapest Hotel. He is currently featured on "Homeland".

Ralph Macchio

(Tom Kuftinec)

Ralph Macchio (Tom Kuftinec)

Ralph is famous for his starring roles in the Karate Kid series. Other movies include Crossroads, My Cousin Vinny, The Outsiders, and, more recently, Hitchcock. In 2011, he made it to the semi-finals on "Dancing with the Stars".

Janeane Garofalo

(Sarah Kuftinec)

Janeane Garofalo (Sarah Kuftinec)

Janeane was a series regular on "The Ben Stiller Show", "Saturday Night Live", "24", "The West Wing", and "The Larry Sanders Show", for which she was twice Emmy-nominated. On film, she starred in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, and has been featured in movies ranging from Reality Bites to The Cable Guy.

Olympia Dukakis

(Yaya)

Olympia Dukakis (Yaya)

Olympia's films include Steel Magnolias, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Moonstruck, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Her television work has garned her an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Golden Globe.

Fatima Ptacek

(Isabella Diaz)

Fatima Ptacek (Isabella Diaz)

Fatima is the current voice of Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer, and she starred in the 2013 Oscar-winning short film Curfew, as well as the forthcoming feature Before I Disappear, with Emmy Rossum and Paul Wesley.

Oona Laurence

(Becky Langer)

Oona Laurence (Becky Langer)

Oona garnered a Tony Award for the title role of Matilda on Broadway. She stars with Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams in the upcoming Southpaw.

Rachel Dratch

(Aunt Diane)

Rachel Dratch (Aunt Diane)

Rachel was featured for seven years on "Saturday Night Live". She also appeared often on "Thirty Rock" and "The King of Queens".

Fina Strazza

(Jez Kuftinec)

Fina Strazza (Jez Kuftinec)

A native of Greenwich Village, Fina currently stars on Broadway in the title role in "Matilda". She is the youngest actress ever to play the role.

Gabriel Rush

(Jaden)

Gabriel Rush (Jaden)

Gabriel made his feature film debut as Skotak, the treehouse scout, in Moonrise Kingdom. He also appears in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Kimberly Quinn

(Laura Langer)

Kimberly Quinn (Laura Langer)

Kimberly plays Tess Masterson on "Twisted". She plays Nurse Ana, opposite Bill Murray, in the new film St. Vincent.

Tovah Feldshuh

(Blackstone Head of School)

Tovah Feldshuh (Blackstone Head of School)

Tovah has been nominated for four Tony Awards. Onscreen, she is best known for her roles in Kissing Jessica Stein and A Walk on the Moon.

FILMMAKERS

The Director

Evan Oppenheimer

A Little Game is the fifth film written and directed by Evan Oppenheimer. He is a graduate of Yale University and NYU Film School. His other films are The Speed of Thought, Alchemy, Justice, and The Auteur Theory.

Evan lives in New York with his wife and three young daughters. His next film, the Italian-set movie The Tourist, will be released in 2015.

The Producers

Michael Mailer

Michael Mailer has worked extensively in the independent film business since graduating from Harvard University in 1987. His films include Two Girls and a Guy, Black and White, Empire, and Loverboy.

Michael Mailer Films was established in 2004, and has now produced numerous films, including Kettle of Fish, The Golden Boys, The Ledge, and Blood and Bone. Its most recent film, Seduced and Abandoned, starring Alec Baldwin, premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival.

Edward Schmidt

In addition to his role as Executive Producer of A Little Game, Edward was also the Still Photographer and Second Unit Director of Photography (as well as an extra in Washington Square Park). Future projects include the Italy-set The Tourist, and a currently in-development feature that revolves around that most dramatic of disciplines, mathematics.

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Edward currently supervises R&D at a leading quantitative hedge fund, and has been a foundational supporter of the recently launched Museum of Mathematics in New York.

CONTACT

Email us at info@alittlegame.com!