Camryn's Chicago-Based Short Film

Camryn Lewis is organizing this fundraiser.

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Thank you for being here.

My name is Camryn Lewis and I am a 23-year-old screenwriter and filmmaker from Danville, Virginia. I moved to Chicago from Virginia in the summer of 2021 after raising (with the help of my hometown) $11,111 on GoFundMe to attend Columbia College Chicago's film school for one year.

After almost two years of living and working in Chicago, I've won multiple student film festivals, I've worked multiple positions on student films, independent feature films, and documentaries, I've worked at the School of the Creative and Performing Arts in Vermont as a TA and RA for the summer of 2022, and I was accepted into and attended the Student Symposium for the 2022 Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado.

This GoFundMe campaign is about the next short film that I have written, produced and am currently filming in Chicago; it's my fourteenth short film – my biggest short film yet – and it's the short film I will be submitting to all of the major and independent film festivals around the country in August 2023.

The original budget for the short film was set at $6,000; however, costs have escalated to complete the short film; I have paid for and have filmed two parts of the three-part short film, but I am currently in need of assistance to complete the third part of the short film and begin editing.

I am paying for the short film out of pocket (through funds I have saved working this past year), and I am working with an incredible cast and crew who believe in this short film and have agreed to work for free.

Before coming to GoFundMe for the second time, I had a great deal of hesitation, for I wanted to prove to myself (and to my hometown) that I could do this, that I could fund the short film and complete the short film and bring something back to the city that I made, something I am certain it will be proud of; however, I cannot deny the fact that I am still at the ground level of this business, working and scraping up money wherever I can to fund my projects.

The day will come in which I am in a position to obtain financing for my projects differently, but at this moment, this is the best option for me to complete the short film and make sure it's in film festivals and on a movie screen for you to see this fall.

$3,000 is needed to complete the short film: $800 for the renting of lighting equipment for the remaining three days of shooting for the short film, and $2,200 for editing (16 mm film), sound design, and a final sound mix for the short film.

My team and I are scheduled to begin filming the third part of the short film on March 30th, 2023; I have already paid for the locations and have obtained the necessary location permits needed to film at those locations.

My eyes are set on the short film being selected for film festivals around the country and having the short film open more doors for greater opportunities for myself, my cast, and my crew. Although I will not be allowed to upload the short film on any online platforms while it's being considered for selection by film festivals, I plan to hold and host a special screening of the short film at Danville Community College in September 2023.

That’s it. This is what I’m up to. And this is just the beginning of a long, beautiful road of films to come.

If you've taken the time to read this GoFundMe page, thank you. Any donation will be greatly appreciated and will go toward completing the short film and making sure you’re able to see it on a movie screen this fall and more movie screens during next year’s film festival circuit.

If you have any questions or concerns about this GoFundMe page, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Thank you for your time, and I hope to see you at the screening in September at Danville Community College.

Also, if you would like to see any of my previous film work, here is the link to my website with my short films, pictures, and more: https://camrynlewis.myportfolio.com

#CamrynLewis #Screenwriter #Filmmaker #Danville #Virginia #Chicago #Illinois #ShortFilms

And, lastly, here are a few behind-the-scenes photos from the filming of the first two parts of the short film: