SAM WAS HERE is a story about how terminal illness and mental health play major roles in today’s world – but also how it impacts people suffering, and how it affects those around them when they ultimately don’t, or can’t, recover.
Enter Sam, the focus of our story, who is suffering from terminal illness and introduced into a support or therapy group. Seemingly a normal practice, until Sam discovers that the group is doing more harm to itself than good forcing Sam to question if therapy or support groups are a means of support, or isolation from those not suffering in society.
Ultimately, the goal of the film is to address issues not talked about surrounding mental health and to address the isolative nature of dealing with terminal illness. These are hotbed issues facing our society these days, and by illustrating them in film – we’re hoping to reach a broader spectrum of attention than just news reports of explanation to catastrophic events can bring.
All of the participants in bringing SAM WAS HERE to reality are emerging filmmakers who want to use the medium and their collaborative creativity to impact issues facing society today.
What We Need & What You Get
This is our second campaign for SAM WAS HERE (the initial campaign can be found HERE). We need to raise an additional $3,500.00 CDN in 2 weeks to make this project a reality. 100% of the money we receive will go towards funding all stages of production and festival submissions – none of the money raised is being paid to producers, key crew, or third party fundraisers.
In return for your very generous donations we are offering a variety of rewards all the way from social media shout outs / tags up to being given a role in the film and tickets to a screening.
MAKE AN IMPACT
There is no time like the present for films with important social and health issues to be made and seen. Please take this opportunity to support SAM WAS HERE and be part of a movement in film that raises awareness for health and social issues affecting society today.
THE TEAM
Jelmer Ouwerkerk – Lead Actor & Writer
Born in a small town in The Netherlands, Jelmer starred in films prior to attending school. At fifteen, Jelmer was casted as lead in the award-winning film, FINNISTER. After that, he performed in multiple TV shows, features and numerous award-winning shorts. Presently, he lives in Toronto, Canada where he continues to pursue his career in acting for film and television.
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Don’t worry if you can’t contribute financially. You can also be of great help by sharing this page to friends, family, anyone you think may be interested. Please post it on any social media outlets you may be a part of. It’s extremely important to get this page circulating and seen by as many eyes as possible. Again, this can’t be done without all of you. Please use Indiegogo share tools!