'Thank You For Playing' wins Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary

I told my readers "I may have at least one more winner to post about next month" at the end of 'The Rachel Maddow Show' wins an Emmy for its coverage of the Flint Water Crisis.  As of now, I have three, but I'm only writing about one of them today, "Thank You For Playing."

When I compiled the nominees for 'Body Team 12' and 'Extremis' both nominated for Outstanding Short Documentary plus other science, health, and environment nominees, I really should have included "Thank You For Playing."  Like "Extremis," it's about end-of-life care, although at a more leisurely pace than seen in an emergency room.  Like the Science and Technology Documentary nominees, it's about technology, in this case, video games.  Like "Sonic Sea," "Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places," and the rest of the nominees for Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction, it's about graphics, again for a video game.  It wasn't nominated for any of those categories.  Instead, it was nominated for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary, so I missed it the first time around.  The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences didn't, giving me a chance to redeem myself.  Watch Katy Tur present an Emmy to "Thank You For Playing."


I can tell that filming the documentary was an emotional experience and she was only the director.  For the parents' perspective, particularly the father's, watch the trailer for Thank You For Playing from POV on PBS.

When Ryan Green, a video game programmer, learns that his young son Joel has cancer, he and his wife begin documenting their emotional journey with a poetic video game. Thank You for Playing follows Ryan and his family over two years creating "That Dragon, Cancer," which evolves from a cathartic exercise into a critically acclaimed work of art that sets the gaming industry abuzz.

I found that moving, but not nearly as much as "That Dragon, Cancer" Feature Film - "Thank You For Playing" Documentary from Family Gamer TV.

We talk to film makers David and Malika, directors of “Thank You For Playing” the film about the video-game That Dragon, Cancer.

The film may have won for arts and culture, but it's also a worthy examination of health and technology.  It's also very emotional.  My eyes are still moist as I write this.

Stay tuned for the two other winners, which are about last year's presidential election.