In efforts to lose weight, Amy takes a low impact workout class taught by @TeenyTinyTana with her friend from college, Rachel. During class, Amy becomes enamored with a female bodybuilder. She decides that she wants to become strong instead of small, which leads to hilariously dangerous and upright supernatural happenings. "Low Impact" is a call to action for women and queer people to take up space, in workout spaces and in life.

I've worked in the wellness industry for over a year. I've met some of the most wonderful, grounded people. Each day, without fail, a student apologizes to me for going to the class that she literally paid for! And each day, I want to ask her: "Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong! Oh good, now you're apologizing for apologizing. Can you please stop that?" Low Impact dares to ask the question: what has to shift in order for us to take up space? Can it be hilarious?

The quest to feel comfortable in one's own skin is a noble, lifelong one. In the age of massive commodification of "new" and "better" ways to move, thirty-something celebs getting major cosmetic surgeries, and new weight loss drugs dropping every five minutes, the question becomes: how do I figure out what I want to do with my body when everyone is constantly telling me what I should want?

On what felt like a whim in the moment, freshly post-grad from Tisch and in desperate need of a change, I moved to Chicago to study comedy. I followed in the footsteps of the creatives I admire by performing at iconic venues such as The Second City, The Annoyance, and iO. Since then, I feel lucky to have found community through venues such as Brooklyn Comedy Collective, Upright Citizen's Brigade, and more. Whether in Brooklyn basements, stages, or somewhere in between, my friends and teachers always remind me how rewarding comedy is to discuss things we'd rather not.

I'm BEYOND excited to use comedic storytelling to bring the message of Low Impact forward. This short was born four years ago as a sketch and the more correct, funny, intelligent people resonated with it, the more it grew. I'm INCREDIBLY proud of this story, our team, and our message. All funds that we raise will go towards providing the best conditions for each person involved to make this film the best it can be! Thank you so much for your support; I'm so excited to bring this project to life.

Our director Palmer Wells' background in commercial direction aligns beautifully with our desired outcome of our leads, Amy and Rachel, feeling like "sketch characters stuck in a commercial world," sticking the landing of the tone: Bottoms x Pen15 x that alo commercial you really liked.

Our singular location, a bright studio, is essential to our story. Our leads, RACHEL, (animated, externally motivated) played by the wonderful Chelsea Matkins, and AMY, (self-conscious) played by Hope Cassandra (me), stick out.

Our team has connected with non-profits who's missions align with the message of our film, including The Strength Initiative, who's founder Dr. Evie Frazier brings science-backed programs proven to help women get into weight training without the cost barrier. We're thrilled to announce that Entertainment 2 Affect Change has joined us as our fiscal sponsor and distributor of the film, which will be accessible on their streaming platform, E2AC, and on Roku TV. We're grateful for the support of these incredible non-profit teams as well as the generous support of the team at Humming Puppy.

Already deep into our Pre-Production phase, following our Seed and Spark green light, we'll hop into rehearsals and prep for our two day shoot in JULY. In the weeks following our shoot, we'll dive into post production and SUBMIT the film to festivals across the country.

Your interest means the absolute world! Here's a few ways you can help:

• Share this link with family, friends, and communities that would resonate with our message!
• Pledge, small contributions make a big impact. At least 80% of our goal must be reached to keep what we have raised! consider contributing to help us secure our amazing creative team, cast, crew, and provide more snacks they can imagine to last us through these night shoots!
• Follow our project: both on Instagram @lowimpactshort and on Spark and Seed to boost our visibility!

Join us in making "Low Impact," a film about women getting stronger, louder, and taking up space in wellness and in LIFE! We have such an incredible team on board and are so excited to get started.

I believe that our obsessions, our desires, or what keeps us up at night are the stories we should be telling. That's what excites me about writing: the one thing I can't stop thinking about could be the same as YOU. And I could make you feel less alone, even just for a moment, simply by making you laugh. Please pledge, follow (here and on socials @lowimpactshort), share! Join us!