Empower The Change: Help Fund Our Film Festival Journey

Hello Everyone,

We took two months off to focus on the country.

We are now back, more determined than ever to share and celebrate women's stories. I feel the world, now more than ever, is in need of some comedy, humanity and some classic life problems through a comedic lens.

I received this note from The Venezia Shorts Italy Festival last week:

Dear Elizabeth B Sampson,

Sometimes we have to make the decision to exclude films that we admire. However, we wanted to share with you some of the elements from your film that overwhelmed and captivated us: The Change uses a refreshing and candid approach to the topic, using humor and empathy to tackle the complexities of menopause.

On behalf of our screening and programming team, we wish to extend our congratulations to you and your entire team once more, and celebrate your creation by sharing these reflections we had from your incredibly artistic project.

Do not forget to submit your next film with the full waiver code we have sent. We would be thrilled to continue following your artistic journey!

Best wishes

This from a festival we didn't even get into -- please, please help this little film be a change out in the world.

And this from a recent viewer I don't know:

Dear Elizabeth, I just watched the film. Oh my God. I loved it so much. I laughed and then wept, you would just gut us and, the dream sequence was incredible. The music, and when she was chopping those vegetables, and lines like "spontaneous bloating" I totally lost it laughing. And then rolling her husband into the bathroom - there were so many beautiful moments. And oh my God you are so arresting to watch on camera, I just loved it. Anything I can to do to help, please let me know. It's just wonderful, wonderful piece. And again, I literally laughed out loud so many times, and then wept, Oh God. So good. Congratulations.

And this from a male friend:

It’s fantastic. I’m not much of a cryer when I watch films but I cried multiple times watching yours. And I laughed so many times when I felt like it was wrong to be laughing, but your face in the mirror when Siri is listing off all of the symptoms—I was howling! The writing, the acting, the relationships-it’s just soooo good. The festivals are gonna love it. Congratulations!!!!

I want more people to get to experience this film

Here's our story -- please consider donating.

A little over a year ago, we endeavored to make a short film.

With a script that I worked on with multiple writers, actors, writing workshops and mentors from 2021 - 2023, we assembled a crew of two Directors, Director of Photography, Camera Assistants, Sound Operators, Lighting Grip and Gaffer, Drone Operator, Boom Operators, Catering, and Actors. We met every day for 8 days of shooting in Savannah. We had many setbacks, including a hurricane. My house was floor to ceiling camera equipment. We set dressed different parts of my house to look like different locations. The cafe scene in the film was actually shot in my driveway. All of the bedrooms were the same bedroom decorated differently.

You can see pictures here:

https://www.the-change-film.com/gallery

The first GoFundMe of $10k covered sound, lighting, camera equipment, catering, location rentals, payroll for 12 - 16 actors and crew members for 8 days, travel expenses and lodging for 3 out-of-town actors. It was an exceedingly tight budget, but we did it.

After we had 20 hours of raw footage, we needed to edit that down to 20 minutes.

The raw footage needed an Editor, a Composer, a Sound Editor, a Music Editor, and a Color Correctionist. They have been working long hours from January to June 6th. We have since added a Social Media expert (a recent SCAD Alum who is herself, also a film-maker!)

We started principal photography on June 6th of summer 2023, and the film was finally finished with post-production, a poster, and a Trailer, ready to be sent off to film festivals on June 6th 2024.

You can watch the trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN7Q2KEeetw

This GoFundMe is to raise money to cover the post-production costs, and for entry into Film Festivals. We have entered into a few small festivals so far - we won Awards of Merit for Best Composer, Best Song, Best Lead Actress and Best Women Theme in The BEST SHORTS COMPETITION, Best Short Film for INFLUX Film Awards, Honorable Mention in the Boobs and Blood Festival, and a Finalist for NY International Film Festival.

We are doing very well so far, but we want to get into a festival where the film is actually screened. The festival entry costs run anywhere from $65 - $135 per festival.

We need help covering the cost of finishing the film, and to help The Change get out into the world.

Any amount is greatly appreciated. $5, $10 - anything you can give is most appreciated and helps us get closer to our goal.

Thank you for your support of The Change, we have had extraordinary feedback from friends who have watched it.

I wanted this film to be an infomercial for the 1 billion women currently in menopause.

When I started writing this story - there were 34 documented symptoms of menopause, as of today - there are now 44 documented symptoms of menopause and still currently very little in the way of medical understanding, and a real dearth of treatment.

Let's get The Change out there and hopefully, make some change!

Many thanks,

~Elizabeth and Scott