The Name Game

Eli Heaton · 2026 · 14 minutes

Determined to reveal a dark family secret to Jerron, Charlotte plays the cursed name-chanting game her grandmother swore off in the 1950’s South.

Eli Heaton is a Knoxville-based filmmaker whose work has screened at festivals like Film Fest Knox, HP Lovecraft Film Festival, New York CineFest, and DIFF Shorts. He’s stoked to be returning to the hometown festival with two films – The Name Game as writer/director and the Elev8or Pitch We Were Giants as producer.

Bridget Nagdeman is a producer and assistant director in Knoxville. Last year, she helped usher in Sleeping Princess and Pink Sync to 1st & 2nd place at the 2025 Elev8or Pitch competition. This year, she is proud to have worked on both The Name Game and the Elev8or Pitch film, We Were Giants.