The world premiere of a new bridge documentary, “The Kids Table,” will be held Sunday at The Cosmopolitan, followed by a panel discussion with the cast.
The movie follows four millennials learning bridge as complete beginners over the course of a year as they take private lessons, play in Los Angeles-area clubs and compete in their first tournaments.
How the four of them experience bridge varies with their personalities. Edd Benda, the filmmaker, and Monique Thomas, a comedian, love it immediately and strive to improve at it and become competitive. Stefanie Woodburn, a gaming streamer, is ambivalent. Although she doesn’t put a great deal of effort into it, natural talent overcomes that, and she comes to embrace the game as she discovers she’s good at it. Paul Stanko, an actor, detests the game. It’s too much work, and he can’t find any fun in it.
His experience highlights the challenge in growing the game in general and recruiting young players specifically: Sure, lots of people would take up bridge if it wasn’t so damn hard to learn. The group’s teachers, Brian Reynolds and Samantha MacDouglas, try to keep an emphasis on making sure their students are having fun, but they recognize it doesn’t always work. “Bridge isn’t for everyone,” MacDouglas says.
But in order for it to be for anyone, they have to be aware it exists. The movie aims to create an awareness of bridge in an audience the ACBL badly wants to reach. That’s why it was financed by the ACBL Educational Foundation.
The premiere is at 8 p.m. Sunday in Condesa 3 on the second floor. Tickets are $10 and available at bridgekidsdoc.com. A download of the hour-long film is available along with admission for $15. The production also has a booth on the fourth floor in the vendors area outside the Belmont Ballroom.
