Loki Needs Urgent Care — Help Launch a Schenectady Filmmaker on the Verge of Breakthrough

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My dog Loki needs urgent medical care — and I’m fighting to stabilize our lives long enough to finish a decade of films, including a brand-new project already gaining momentum: The Mohawk River Witch, rooted in Schenectady’s own history.

Thank you to everyone who once supported Homer’s medical needs. Losing him was devastating. He wasn’t just my companion — he was the emotional core of my film Homer Alone, which is now 98% complete.

Today I’m writing because Loki, my remaining dog and last family member, is now in critical need.

He requires medical intervention and possibly surgery. I cannot afford diagnostics or appointments yet, and I’m doing everything possible to keep him alive in the meantime.

All of this unfolded during a severe home emergency:

my furnace broke, and as a homeowner of 27 years in Schenectady, already carrying the weight of back taxes and years of financial strain, the timing could not have been worse. The house is freezing. I’ve been melting snow on the stove just so Loki can stay hydrated.

This combination of events has pushed us to a breaking point.

This fundraiser will go toward:

Loki’s urgent medical care

Immediate survival needs (warmth, food, heat, stability)

Repairing the furnace or temporarily escaping the cold while arranging repairs

Recovering mentally and physically from extreme overload

Finishing Homer Alone (98% complete)

Resuming investor conversations for multiple films

Developing the new Schenectady-based project: The Mohawk River Witch

Consolidating and completing the body of work I’ve created over the last decade

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⭐ A Filmmaker Rooted in Schenectady — Telling Schenectady’s Stories

I have lived in Schenectady for 27 years, and four of my films are directly connected to the area’s history, culture, and mythology. My creative focus is deeply tied to Schenectady — its past, its shadows, and its forgotten stories.

This includes my newest project, The Mohawk River Witch, inspired by the 1690 Schenectady Massacre and the witch hunt that reached the Stockade. This story belongs to this city — and as a longtime resident and filmmaker, I’m committed to telling it with depth, beauty, and historical integrity.

My films are not abstract passions.

They are part of Schenectady’s cultural legacy.

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⭐ My Work & Momentum

Despite disability, trauma, and overwhelming instability, I’ve created a meaningful and substantial body of work:

Films & Creative Projects

Homer Alone — feature film, 98% complete

Dollmaker — halfway shot, previously drew serious investor interest

Shooting Valerie — filmed performance + stills

All Happy Families — screenplay + stills

The Mohawk River Witch — new project in development, rooted in local Schenectady history

Professional Background

Featured in the Schenectady Gazette for my work with Greenstreets Schenectady bringing food to underserved “food desert” communities

National spokesperson in a pharmaceutical campaign

Correspondent for WPTR & RadioRadioX

Professional dancer (Middle Eastern & cultural dance troupes)

Animal welfare advocate

Creator of Bartleby Bones

Survivor of a brain injury and years of setbacks — yet always creating

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⭐ Near-Investment Breakthroughs (The Part No One Realized)

I want to be clear:

I have never been a filmmaker without traction.

I have been a filmmaker on the edge of breakthrough again and again.

Several of my films were extremely close to receiving investment — including Dollmaker, which drew strong interest and was already halfway filmed before circumstances forced production to pause. Other projects, like Homer Alone and All Happy Families, have long-standing support and have been in discussions with backers.

With a brief period of stability, I can finish these films and return to the investor conversations that were already happening.

And donors who help now become the Angel Investors who launched all of these works into the world.

When I rise —

I rise with everyone who helped us survive this moment.

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⭐ What I Need Right Now

I am not asking for luxury.

I’m asking for survival, warmth, clarity, and the chance to stabilize enough to save Loki and finish the films tied to my life’s purpose.

Even a brief period in a warm, safe environment — with sunlight, stillness, and enough emotional bandwidth to think again — would allow me to consolidate my work and move the projects into release and investment.

If you can help Loki, help stabilize my home, and help me finish the work that Homer inspired and Loki is fighting alongside me to complete — your support means more than I can express.

Even small donations help.

Sharing helps too.

Thank you for believing in me.

Thank you for helping us survive this moment.

— Jill Camillo & Loki