The Greatest Joy
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy
The Greatest Joy is a funny and moving story about the three days it takes Sammy to miscarriage. When Sammy's doctor tells her to stay off her feet and wait to miscarry, she finds funny ways to pass the worst kind of waiting. Story is told with a female lead and a diverse cast.
The Greatest Joy
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $18,661 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
190 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
The Greatest Joy is a funny and moving story about the three days it takes Sammy to miscarriage. When Sammy's doctor tells her to stay off her feet and wait to miscarry, she finds funny ways to pass the worst kind of waiting. Story is told with a female lead and a diverse cast.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE GREATEST JOY is a dark comedy about loss, motherhood and marriage, born from the writer/director's own miscarriage.
STORY
When SAMMY's doctor tells her her pregnancy is non-viable, she's also told she can't get an abortion until Friday. And Friday is ages away. She can't do much except wait for her abortion, and in the meantime see if she passes her pregnancy at home over the next three days.
On DAY ONE, Sammy stocks up on groceries, wine and weed and gets ready to sit around and bleed. Her husband, BRUCE, debates if he, too, should stay home, but Sammy insists he goes to work: someone has to make money. Despite starting to cramp and feel like crap, Bruce leaves Sammy and Sammy finds herself alone, stuck in the bathroom. Friends of hers start to send her food in an influx of delivery drivers. Someone sends tacos. Someone sends sushi. Bruce sends flowers. She wakes up in the middle of the night to ruined sheets. Crap.
On DAY TWO she 's really stuck in the bathroom. The boredom and pain sets in, simultaneously and also interchangeably. She gets in a fight with a delivery driver who brings her the wrong sanitary napkins at the worst time for someone to bring you the wrong thing. The pain and discomfort increase, and the boredom takes over. She plays Jenga alone on the toilet while she curses having a body. She self-medicates hard, and when Bruce comes home that night, Sammy is extremely drunk. She begs Bruce not to look at her, and he obliges: she can have anything she wants right now. They talk about what she's going through to the limited extent she can emotionally process what she's feeling. Day Two was a bitch. Double crap.
On DAY THREE, Sammy and Bruce attempt to relax together by the pool. They drink margaritas and hope that the worst is behind them. Sammy goes inside to refill her drink, and pops into the bathroom to pee. Suddenly, something falls out of her. She calls Bruce: she thinks she's finally passed the fetus? Baby? Non-viable collection of cells? They don't even know how to process this or what to call it. They discuss what to do. Do they flush? Do they bury? Sammy asks Bruce if he wants to come see...the baby? Bruce decides that no, the best way to remember this pregnancy was with hope and joy, and seeing anything will mess him up more. Sammy totally understands. She hangs up.
Alone in the bathroom, she is faced with what she was dreaming was going to be her baby. She reaches into the toilet, and holds it in her hands for a moment. Then, she releases it back into the bowl, closes the lid, and finally, she flushes.
APPROACH/TONE
The main approach with THE GREATEST JOY is to film it with as much comedic influence as possible. Tone, style and color are all in the vein of OBVIOUS CHILD and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE; when the tragic is somehow so uncomfortable and real that it's laughable.
Sammy will be framed from a distance, usually offset in the frame to help her feel imbalanced and emotionally distanced from what she's going through. Bruce will often be closer to camera and centered. The scenes with delivery drivers will be both shot over Sammy's shoulder, and often at an angle, to emphasize a wonky approach to people during this time.
The first time Sammy is centered in frame with Bruce will be the pool scene, as she starts to heal. The final scene with Sammy's flushing the toilet will likely be switched to handheld, suggesting a real intimacy with her inner life and her finally coming to a space of understands and acceptance in the story.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
I miscarried and had an abortion to help the non-viable fetus from my body one year to the month before Roe v. Wade was overturned. I had just signed with my agents, COVID was finally feeling manageable, and I had a good writer’s assistant job. And then I lost the little cluster of cells that had managed to have a heartbeat until it didn’t.
While it is sad, I wanted to write about this experience through the humor that accompanied it. So often a miscarriage is portrayed on camera as a blip; a thing that happens suddenly and quickly, and is then over. Poof: the baby is gone. But in reality, there is a lot of time that it takes to go through this process, and most of that is alone and in pain. A lot of that time affects the people who love you, and who you love. I wanted to portray that period of time, when you are just waiting for your body to take you on a journey that you did not want to go on.
Just as much as this is a film about a miscarriage, this is equally about a film about marriage. We often do not see how these losses affect men, as well. I had so much distance and simultaneous empathy for my partner during our loss, and I wanted to write something that honored his experience, too.
The overall intention of this film is to commit to showing women’s pain in a different way; in the way in which we so often live it: in its commonality. As my OBGYN said at the time, “Yes, it is common to miscarry, but not everything should be normalized.” This is the thesis for this film. I want to respond to that statement by showing how common this is for women, how common and unrecognized female pain is, but also to not let it become normal to see.
WHAT'S THE PLAN? WHAT'S THE PROMISE?
In order to shoot this short, we need funds. We are planning on a three day shoot in my own home, so that all costs are being put towards crew and equipment, the actors, and other misc. funds like insurance and setting up our LLC. We've done our very best to keep our budget as low as possible. Please see our wishlist page to see where all the funds are going to go!
When you donate, we will send you a copy/pasteable gif or image to share on your own social media, kind of like when you get a stick when you vote.
Once the project is finished, we will have budgeted to have funding leftover for post, where we will edit and mix and finalize the short. Anyone who helped to fund the project will be sent a link to see the film as soon as it is ready. Our goal is December, but the writer/director is currently 8 months pregnant and expecting her first child, so it's possible post will run into January. Then it's on to submitting for festivals! The campaign for the project will continue to move forward throughout festival season, and any leftover funds if we surpass our goal will go towards funding for festivals.
The most important thing that can help this film stay alive after filming is by this audience, this league of donators, to continue to follow and share our film.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Let's pay actors!
Costs $1,968
For a three day shoot with microbudget short film SAG rates, we need to pay our actors.
Cameras & Crew make the magic
Costs $13,873
The biggest part of our budget, our DP and crew are AWESOME at what they do. This will cover their time and equipment.
Art Department
Costs $100
To cover the things you see in film: props, design, everything you see. We don't need too much, but we need a little to dress our sets.
Hair & Makeup
Costs $1,200
We need to make sure everyone looks exactly like they need to when we shoot, or else we're wasting a lot of time and money.
Sound Mixer
Costs $1,200
To make a good film it needs to look and sound great. We need great sound.
Food
Costs $1,500
Let's nourish everyone on set!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
KELSEY OLUK -- Producer:
A graduate of the Randolph College of the Performing Arts in Toronto, Kelsey is a multi-disciplinary performer and producer. Recently, she produced the feature documentary A$AP ROCKY: STOCKHOLM SYNDROME (Tribeca 2021/Amazon Studios), as well as Tribeca 2022 selections NAKED GARDENS and SUBJECT. Previous works include NATIVE SON (Sundance 2019/HBO), PIGEON KINGS (SIFF), MOMENT OF TRUTH (Amazon/IMDbTV) and a short documentary THE POPPY AND THE SUNFLOWER, about her maternal ancestry for Tribeca Studios and 23&me,
She has performed on stage in musicals and plays, danced for cruise ships, contemporary companies, and multiple music videos, as well as acting in numerous feature and short films. Her 2018 short film REMAIN, which she produced, performed, choreographed and edited played numerous festivals around the globe. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
THEA LUX -- Producerr, AD and Delivery Driver 3:
Thea Lux is an LA-based actor and writer, creatively raised by Chicago's comedy and theater scene. She graduated with a film degree in documentary from Columbia College Chicago and has written and/or directed comedic branded videos for such companies as Groupon and SHE Media. Most recently she co-wrote, acted, and produced the short film, WHEEL, which has screened at film festivals across the country and internationally at the world-renowned comedy festival, Just for Laughs. She is currently in pre-production for her next short film, DONOR, a cringe-comedy about infertility.
DREW AIELLO -- Director of Photography:
"Born and raised in snowy Syracuse, New York, I fell in love with film while studying at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. Very quickly, I found myself watching every movie I could get my hands on. After graduate school at The London Film School, I moved to Los Angeles to get on set.
I believe being a Cinematographer is about balancing the creative with the technical, and letting the former dictate the latter. I spent years as a grip, electrician, 1st AC, and Camera Operator, and I pride myself on my technical foundation. But, it’s the story that drives me, and I feel my strength lies in my ability to let the script, and the Director’s vision, guide my visual strategies. And I love being part of a team and being there to support my fellow filmmakers. I am a proud member of the International Cinematographers Guild, and an honored recipient of a 2021 ICG Emerging Cinematographer Award."
www.drewaiello.com
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE GREATEST JOY is a dark comedy about loss, motherhood and marriage, born from the writer/director's own miscarriage.
STORY
When SAMMY's doctor tells her her pregnancy is non-viable, she's also told she can't get an abortion until Friday. And Friday is ages away. She can't do much except wait for her abortion, and in the meantime see if she passes her pregnancy at home over the next three days.
On DAY ONE, Sammy stocks up on groceries, wine and weed and gets ready to sit around and bleed. Her husband, BRUCE, debates if he, too, should stay home, but Sammy insists he goes to work: someone has to make money. Despite starting to cramp and feel like crap, Bruce leaves Sammy and Sammy finds herself alone, stuck in the bathroom. Friends of hers start to send her food in an influx of delivery drivers. Someone sends tacos. Someone sends sushi. Bruce sends flowers. She wakes up in the middle of the night to ruined sheets. Crap.
On DAY TWO she 's really stuck in the bathroom. The boredom and pain sets in, simultaneously and also interchangeably. She gets in a fight with a delivery driver who brings her the wrong sanitary napkins at the worst time for someone to bring you the wrong thing. The pain and discomfort increase, and the boredom takes over. She plays Jenga alone on the toilet while she curses having a body. She self-medicates hard, and when Bruce comes home that night, Sammy is extremely drunk. She begs Bruce not to look at her, and he obliges: she can have anything she wants right now. They talk about what she's going through to the limited extent she can emotionally process what she's feeling. Day Two was a bitch. Double crap.
On DAY THREE, Sammy and Bruce attempt to relax together by the pool. They drink margaritas and hope that the worst is behind them. Sammy goes inside to refill her drink, and pops into the bathroom to pee. Suddenly, something falls out of her. She calls Bruce: she thinks she's finally passed the fetus? Baby? Non-viable collection of cells? They don't even know how to process this or what to call it. They discuss what to do. Do they flush? Do they bury? Sammy asks Bruce if he wants to come see...the baby? Bruce decides that no, the best way to remember this pregnancy was with hope and joy, and seeing anything will mess him up more. Sammy totally understands. She hangs up.
Alone in the bathroom, she is faced with what she was dreaming was going to be her baby. She reaches into the toilet, and holds it in her hands for a moment. Then, she releases it back into the bowl, closes the lid, and finally, she flushes.
APPROACH/TONE
The main approach with THE GREATEST JOY is to film it with as much comedic influence as possible. Tone, style and color are all in the vein of OBVIOUS CHILD and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE; when the tragic is somehow so uncomfortable and real that it's laughable.
Sammy will be framed from a distance, usually offset in the frame to help her feel imbalanced and emotionally distanced from what she's going through. Bruce will often be closer to camera and centered. The scenes with delivery drivers will be both shot over Sammy's shoulder, and often at an angle, to emphasize a wonky approach to people during this time.
The first time Sammy is centered in frame with Bruce will be the pool scene, as she starts to heal. The final scene with Sammy's flushing the toilet will likely be switched to handheld, suggesting a real intimacy with her inner life and her finally coming to a space of understands and acceptance in the story.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
I miscarried and had an abortion to help the non-viable fetus from my body one year to the month before Roe v. Wade was overturned. I had just signed with my agents, COVID was finally feeling manageable, and I had a good writer’s assistant job. And then I lost the little cluster of cells that had managed to have a heartbeat until it didn’t.
While it is sad, I wanted to write about this experience through the humor that accompanied it. So often a miscarriage is portrayed on camera as a blip; a thing that happens suddenly and quickly, and is then over. Poof: the baby is gone. But in reality, there is a lot of time that it takes to go through this process, and most of that is alone and in pain. A lot of that time affects the people who love you, and who you love. I wanted to portray that period of time, when you are just waiting for your body to take you on a journey that you did not want to go on.
Just as much as this is a film about a miscarriage, this is equally about a film about marriage. We often do not see how these losses affect men, as well. I had so much distance and simultaneous empathy for my partner during our loss, and I wanted to write something that honored his experience, too.
The overall intention of this film is to commit to showing women’s pain in a different way; in the way in which we so often live it: in its commonality. As my OBGYN said at the time, “Yes, it is common to miscarry, but not everything should be normalized.” This is the thesis for this film. I want to respond to that statement by showing how common this is for women, how common and unrecognized female pain is, but also to not let it become normal to see.
WHAT'S THE PLAN? WHAT'S THE PROMISE?
In order to shoot this short, we need funds. We are planning on a three day shoot in my own home, so that all costs are being put towards crew and equipment, the actors, and other misc. funds like insurance and setting up our LLC. We've done our very best to keep our budget as low as possible. Please see our wishlist page to see where all the funds are going to go!
When you donate, we will send you a copy/pasteable gif or image to share on your own social media, kind of like when you get a stick when you vote.
Once the project is finished, we will have budgeted to have funding leftover for post, where we will edit and mix and finalize the short. Anyone who helped to fund the project will be sent a link to see the film as soon as it is ready. Our goal is December, but the writer/director is currently 8 months pregnant and expecting her first child, so it's possible post will run into January. Then it's on to submitting for festivals! The campaign for the project will continue to move forward throughout festival season, and any leftover funds if we surpass our goal will go towards funding for festivals.
The most important thing that can help this film stay alive after filming is by this audience, this league of donators, to continue to follow and share our film.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Let's pay actors!
Costs $1,968
For a three day shoot with microbudget short film SAG rates, we need to pay our actors.
Cameras & Crew make the magic
Costs $13,873
The biggest part of our budget, our DP and crew are AWESOME at what they do. This will cover their time and equipment.
Art Department
Costs $100
To cover the things you see in film: props, design, everything you see. We don't need too much, but we need a little to dress our sets.
Hair & Makeup
Costs $1,200
We need to make sure everyone looks exactly like they need to when we shoot, or else we're wasting a lot of time and money.
Sound Mixer
Costs $1,200
To make a good film it needs to look and sound great. We need great sound.
Food
Costs $1,500
Let's nourish everyone on set!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
KELSEY OLUK -- Producer:
A graduate of the Randolph College of the Performing Arts in Toronto, Kelsey is a multi-disciplinary performer and producer. Recently, she produced the feature documentary A$AP ROCKY: STOCKHOLM SYNDROME (Tribeca 2021/Amazon Studios), as well as Tribeca 2022 selections NAKED GARDENS and SUBJECT. Previous works include NATIVE SON (Sundance 2019/HBO), PIGEON KINGS (SIFF), MOMENT OF TRUTH (Amazon/IMDbTV) and a short documentary THE POPPY AND THE SUNFLOWER, about her maternal ancestry for Tribeca Studios and 23&me,
She has performed on stage in musicals and plays, danced for cruise ships, contemporary companies, and multiple music videos, as well as acting in numerous feature and short films. Her 2018 short film REMAIN, which she produced, performed, choreographed and edited played numerous festivals around the globe. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
THEA LUX -- Producerr, AD and Delivery Driver 3:
Thea Lux is an LA-based actor and writer, creatively raised by Chicago's comedy and theater scene. She graduated with a film degree in documentary from Columbia College Chicago and has written and/or directed comedic branded videos for such companies as Groupon and SHE Media. Most recently she co-wrote, acted, and produced the short film, WHEEL, which has screened at film festivals across the country and internationally at the world-renowned comedy festival, Just for Laughs. She is currently in pre-production for her next short film, DONOR, a cringe-comedy about infertility.
DREW AIELLO -- Director of Photography:
"Born and raised in snowy Syracuse, New York, I fell in love with film while studying at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. Very quickly, I found myself watching every movie I could get my hands on. After graduate school at The London Film School, I moved to Los Angeles to get on set.
I believe being a Cinematographer is about balancing the creative with the technical, and letting the former dictate the latter. I spent years as a grip, electrician, 1st AC, and Camera Operator, and I pride myself on my technical foundation. But, it’s the story that drives me, and I feel my strength lies in my ability to let the script, and the Director’s vision, guide my visual strategies. And I love being part of a team and being there to support my fellow filmmakers. I am a proud member of the International Cinematographers Guild, and an honored recipient of a 2021 ICG Emerging Cinematographer Award."
www.drewaiello.com