MILQUETOAST: a short film

Hi, everyone. My name is Eliza and I'm trying to raise money for my first short film, called MILQUETOAST.

The definition of Milquetoast is a meek, timid, or unassertive person; bland.

"What a wild name to call someone," you might be thinking. "How does it pertain to your short film?" Well...

Living in a heightened world, MILQUETOAST is a dark comedy that follows a woman who was recently broken up with for being "too nice." When her close female friends come over to console her, she soon realizes being "too nice" is in fact a negative trait and one her friends have been taking advantage of. At the end of the film, she rebels against expectations and perceptions of who she is by finally performing an act that is undeniably not nice.

Now, you may be thinking, "really interesting idea, Eliza. Maybe even the best I've ever heard. Where'd it come from?" Great question...

Someone once said to me, "You're really nice and it's one of the best qualities about you, but it's also the thing that's going to hurt you." Interesting thing to say to someone. At the time, I didn't think too much of it. I shrugged it off, thinking, "no one who actually cared about me would ever take advantage of my niceness." Until, sure enough, certain events popped up in my life that made me reevaluate this optimistic, naiveté mindset and had me wonder how a quality that should be considered a positive trait can become detrimental.

And so, an idea was sparked and I wrote a film about it.

"Wow, Eliza," you may be thinking, now frowning, realizing you're too deep in my psyche. "That might've been too much personal information I didn't need to know." Fair point, so on to the brass tacks.

If you were to donate to this project, please let me explain where the funds will be used.

Cast&Crew. I'm thrilled about my cast; actors who can be seen on Netflix, Hulu, and HBO and a professional crew who read the script and immediately jumped on board. While the team is invested in seeing this project come to life, funds are needed to pay for their time and talent. The strike has put many of artists out of work and this will help support those who've been picketing for fairer wages.

Equipment. Camera, lenses, sound, lighting, production design,, van rental, etc. The better the lenses and sound, the higher quality the film will be, and I want to make sure it looks and sounds as fantastic and professional as the people who are working on it.

Post Production. Editing, color correction, music and sound post, etc. This film is fast and funny. So much of the heavy lifting to make this film the best it can be will come from post production.

Festival fees. Funny, fast, poignant, and full of familiar faces, we believe this film will be imminently programmable at film festivals, where we will find out audience. My plan will be to send this to major film festivals such as Sundance, TIFF, Tribeca, SXSW, Tribeca, Slamdance, Telluride, Berinale, etc., all of which have submission fees.

And miscellaneous (but just as important) costs such as batteries, hard drives, insurance, snacks and meals for the cast and crew, etc, because if anything is lost, stolen, left hungry, or broken...well, my next film I write will be titled, "That time I really f***ed up."

Joking aside, it's vulnerable to be creating something where bits and pieces of oneself are webbed into the characters and story. I've been doing that more these past couple of years and I've grown to be proud of my work and the themes I'm exploring. It would mean so much if you could donate however much you want to the film. I'd be so grateful for any amount.

Additionally, if you feel so inclined to pass on this link to others who might want to donate, that would be greatly appreciated. It's a lofty goal, I know, so the more eyes on this, the better chance I have to reach it.

Thank you for any consideration you may have toward supporting MILQUETOAST.