PLAY ON! Will the Fun Survive?

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In 2008, five toy inventors trusted me to tell one of the most important stories of their lives.
The Great Recession wiped out our funding and I couldn't finish the film.
Help me go back and find them.

A film 20 years in the making

If this story moved you, here's how to help.

PLAY ON! is an independent documentary, made possible entirely by people like you. You can help us find out where their Big Dreams took them.

Play On Productions Presents

Everybody has a dream. What happens when you follow it?

In 2008, Aimee, Terrie, Brett, Mike, and Ray – first-time toy inventors –
walked into New York's Toy Fair with Big Dreams and high stakes.

They’d bet their houses, relationships, and savings on their new toy or game, hoping to bring joy and wonder to kids of all ages and abilities. And hoping for a hit.

Some Toys Don't Play Fair

The New York Toy Fair is the Super Bowl of play: thousands of inventors, buyers, and media packed into the Javits Center, hoping to discover the “next big thing.” Every year, old and new companies alike debut about 100,000 toys and games.

Scammers and rip-off artists roam the aisles, too. In fact, some of your favorite toymakers regularly steal from small companies and individual inventors. They know that the “littles guys” don’t have the legal and financial resources to protect their patents.

Into this fraught mix, our Dreamers came with inventions as diverse as their life stories...

Meet The Toymakers

AIMEE is a corporate etiquette expert who emptied her kids' college funds and
family savings to invent a board game that teaches children from all backgrounds the manners and social skills they need to be successful in life.

BRETT is a water-loving inventor and adventurer who spent 12 years engineering and patenting the ultimate self-siphoning water gun for his pool helmets, which encourage physical activity and face-to-face play for kids of all ages.

MICHAEL is a Hollywood special-effects artist who sculpted full-body dinosaur hand puppets so realistic they could star in a movie. He's determined to resurrect a dream that nearly went extinct.

RAY is a former Marine whose epiphany made the classic game of chess even more
strategically and cognitively demanding, The moveable board he created mimics the challenges of modern warfare and its ever-changing battlefield.

TERRIE is an entrepreneur who couldn’t have more kids, so she created a $100K live-action series with her pets and farm animals to bring joy and life lessons to other
people’s children. She dreams of personally handing her movie to 1,000,000 kids.

And Then ... The CRASH

Months after Toy Fair 2008, the Great Recession hit. Hard. The myth that toys were “recession-proof” was quickly disproved.

By 2010, Aimee was operating a forklift to ship out games herself.

Independent toy stores and small manufacturers shuttered as the economy dived and Amazon rose. TDmonthly — the film’s original sponsor — had to shelve the documentary. Our plans to follow up with Aimee were postponed ...

... Until NOW

Like Michael Apted’s UP series of documentary films — which follow people throughout their lives — PLAY ON!’s once-in-a-lifetime footage offers a rare opportunity to see Aimee at the beginning of her journey … and then find out where that long, bumpy road took her ... and her family.

Why This Story Matters

Number one among the regrets of the dying is that they never lived a life true to themselves. They did as others expected, and ignored the passionate inner voice that urged them in another direction. Too late, they wished they’d taken more risks.

PLAY ON! – 20 years in the making – tells the true story of five inventors who ignored the negative chatter and risked everything to bring their Big Dreams to Toy Fair in 2008.

Unlike traditional rags-to-riches stories – which promise that hard work always pays off in dollars – PLAY ON! explores the myriad ways that following a deeply held dream will enrich and change your life. Forever.

The message of PLAY ON! is simple: Don’t give up on your dreams. Never give up on yourself.

By finishing PLAY ON!, I fulfill the promise that we made to these inventors 20 years ago: That their stories matter, their inventions matter, and that their dreams will change the world.

Chapter One

What Happened to Aimee?

Nearly 20 years ago, I didn't get to finish Aimee's story.
Now I finally have the chance.

Your donation will help me revisit her 2008 journey, return to Aimee, and create the first completed story from PLAY ON! — a short film that will become the opening chapter of the feature documentary.

Help unlock Chapter One.

Fundraising trailer completed
Edit Aimee's 2008 story
Research & story development
Prepare the reunion interview
Film Aimee's reunion
Edit Chapter One (short film)
Integrate Chapter One into PLAY ON!

Processed securely via PayPal · Tax-deductible through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, From The Heart Productions

Meet the Filmmakers

BOB NAIMI. Executive Producer.
Bob is a visionary, mission-driven businessman and founder of ToyDirectory.com (est. 1996), which gets 42,000 unique visitors per month, as well as the online magazine TDmonthly. Bob believes that playing with high-quality toys helps children develop compassion, creativity, and intellect that stay with them as they grow, contributing to a more peaceful world. Read more about PLAY ON! and our inventors on ToyDirectory.

ALISON MAREK. Director, co-producer, editor.
TDmonthly's former director of videography, Alison has won grants from Showtime Networks, Inc., and the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for her short films. She’s been nominated for a local Emmy, received Gold Aurora and Bronze Telly awards, and has written, produced or directed numerous PSAs, short films, web series, features, and TV shows. Her graphic novels, Desert Streams and Sparrow, were published by Piranha Press (DC Comics). Like Sharri, she has an MFA in film directing from NYU. She was "B" camera on the 2008 footage.

SHARRI HEFNER. Producer.
Sharri is an award-winning internationally-based filmmaker. She produced Joseph T. Walker's 2025 feature film Broken Land, starring David Morse ("The Green Mile," "Hurt Locker"), now on AppleTV and Amazon. She also produced Rachel Carey's Good Thoughts (2026), Eli Daughdrill's Faith, Sharon Hoffman's Almost, and co-wrote Gene Rhee's The Trouble with Romance, As a member of Hyphenate Films, Sharri line produced Joel Viertel's 'Strictly Sexual' and production coordinated/guerrilla marketed Mora Stephens' 'Conventioneers', which won the Independent Spirit Awards' John Cassavetes Award. She ran TDmonthly's Baby Roundtables.

AMANDA ROSE WILDER. Cinematographer.
Amanda was A-camera for the 2008 PLAY ON! footage. Amanda's documentary subjects include textile artist Richard Saja, the Estey Organ Company, and poet Mary Jo Salter. Wilder shot as second camera alongside Albert Maysles for Maysles Films, Inc.. She directed and shot the award-winning observational documentary feature, "Approaching the Elephant,"

FROM THE HEART PRODUCTIONS. Fiscal Sponsor.
PLAY ON! has fiscal sponsorship through From the Heart Productions, a 501C3 organization that considers PLAY ON! to be an important historical project. This partnership also offers a tax deduction for any contributions made toward the film -- whether as a company or as an individual.

Donation Button

Your tax-deductible donation helps bring this film into the world.

For $1,000 and up, you can become a producer with FILM CREDIT.

JOIN OUR VALUED DONORS and SUPPORTERS

DAVID ESPOSITO
Harvest Time Partners. Co-Producer.
We met David at Toy Fair 2013, where we videotaped his Abundant Harvest communication games. David is a combat veteran, husband, father, business executive, a creator of award-winning self-help resources … and now he’s in the movie biz, too! Read more about his unique journey to toy creation on TDmonthly.com.

Your support is crucial. Every donation to our fiscal sponsor, From The Heart Productions, is tax-deductible and covers everything from pre-production to follow-up filming, final editing, release, marketing, and distribution. See the impact of your contribution and the rewards waiting for you or your company below.

Thank You! $25 and up

Inclusion on ToyDirectory and PLAY ON! page THANK YOU lists.

Impact: Helps pay to re-capture 40 mini-DV tapes and create a trailer.

Special Thanks $250+

Linked logo (to your website) on ToyDirectory and PLAY ON! THANK YOU lists.

Impact: Buys a day's worth of catering for a small crew.

IMDb Thanks $500+

All above, plus Special Thanks credit on IMDb.

Impact: Covers one day's camera equipment rental.

Associate Producer, Level One $1,000+

All above, plus Associate Producer end credit of film.

Impact: Secures rights for a key archival photo or video clip.

Associate Producer, Level Two $3,000+

All above, plus Associate Producer end credit of film.

Impact: Helps pay travel for follow-up interviews with our inventors.

Co-Producer, Level One $5,000+

All above, plus Co-Producer end credit of film and IMDb, a paragraph in the “Meet Our Supporters” TDmonthly article, and an invitation to our Zoom Toy Inventor Roundtable with a subsequent TDmonthly article.

Impact: Helps pay for pre-production and production.

Co-Producer, Level Two $10,000+

All above, plus a standalone article on your company or organization in TDmonthly.

Impact: Pays the composer and musicians for the original score.

Executive Producer, Level One $25,000+

All above, plus Executive Producer end card and IMDb credit, plus a private consultation with the film's directors for your own passion project.

Impact: Helps pay for editing, color grading, and sound mixing.

Executive Producer, Level Two $50,000+

All above, plus Executive Producer shared opening card and IMDb credit, a private screening at one of your company's events, and two VIP tickets to Opening Night (travel not included).

Impact: Funds camera, light, and other equipment rental for the entire shoot.

Executive Producer, Level Three $100,000+

All above, plus Executive Producer solo opening card.

Impact: Funds camera, light, and other equipment rental for the entire shoot.

Presented By $200,000+

Presented By [Your Name/Company] credit — all above, plus prominent opening credit in film and IMDb, two hours of private consultation with the film's directors for your own passion project, a private screening at two of your company's events, six VIP tickets to Opening Night (travel not included), and cross-promotional opportunities including an on-camera interview with your company's principal, run as a separate article, plus prominently featured in film’s bonus materials.

Impact: Secures funds for distribution, festival fees, and the publicity campaign.

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You've read their whole story. Now help finish it.

Don't let 20 years of dreaming end in a drawer of old tapes.

Whatever you can give today moves PLAY ON! from a story about a dream — to a film that finally gets to be seen.

Tax-deductible through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, From The Heart Productions

Prefer to donate by Check? (Part II)

Prefer to Donate by Check?

Please make check donations payable to FROM THE HEART PRODUCTIONS.

Indicate the name of the film “PLAY ON! Documentary” on the memo line.

Mail your check to:

From The Heart Productions
1013 Harbor Blvd. #53
Oxnard, CA 93035

PLEASE BE SURE TO PUT THE NAME “PLAY ON!” ON ALL DONATIONS so that we will receive the funds. Thank you!

Check back here or watch your email for updates. You can get a schedule breakdown and see VIDEOS on this TDmonthly article.

Learn from the Long-Termers:

TDmonthly has published an article about small manufacturers who band together, called
Survival of the Smallest, featuring an interview with Baby Paper's Sari Wiaz.

TDmonthly has also published an article -- The Resilient Spirit of Play: Toy Companies Share Their Journey -- with advice from long-term companies who've braved challenges such as the Great Recession of 2008-2009, the Pandemic, and today's Tariffs. See what the following successful toy leaders, such as PLAY ON! supporter Kathie Gavin of b. dazzle, have to say about persistence. And watch Tenzi's satirical song about tariffs!