What Are We Doing:

The Lizard Film is an extension of the previous Indiegogo campaign, "Teamwork in Teiids". Our supporters asked us to extend our campaign just before "Teamwork in Teiids" expired on Indiegogo; this new campaign is effectively a continuation of our previous effort.

We are making a documentary about the personal lives of Ameiva lizards, which have an unusual approach to surviving on a barren piece of rock in the Caribbean and are the players in a truly amazing and unusual story that we are excited to tell. We also hope that hearing the story of individual lizards will get people to appreciate the complex lives of supposedly "simple" animals (and feel more inclined to advocate for them).

Who We Are:

 Doug Eifler (Executive Producer)

is a behavioral biologist with close to 30 years experience working with reptiles.  He has graduate degrees in wildlife ecology (MS, University of Florida) and organismal biology (PhD, Harvard University). 

Maria Eifler (Producer)

is an ecologist, also with almost 30 years experience studying vertebrates. She has graduate degrees in ecology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville (MS) and the University of Kansas (PhD). 

Together Maria and Doug are the founders of the Erell Institute, an organization devoted to promoting conservation and developing a diverse new generation of field biologists using research as an educational tool, and nature as a classroom.

Ric Okoniewski (Director)

Throughout his 25 year career, Ric has gained extensive knowledge and experience by framing the narrative, painting with light, and directing the scene. Ric is currently directing national projects including "Trigger Time TV" and "Castin' Cajun".  

What We Need:

Our budget covers the expenses of filming in the field.  Through our previous Indiegogo campaign ("Teamwork in Teiids") and from other sources, we have already raised $11,300 towards the $13,700 we need to cover:

• Transportation to Anguilla
• Living expenses (food and lodging) while filming
• Local transportation (we cannot stay on the island but must hire a boat taxi each day that we film)

"The Lizard Film" campaign seeks to raise the additional $2400 difference to cover the basics for carrying out the filming listed above.  In addition, we are asking for $2500 to cover post-production costs; we naively underestimated this expense during our original campaign.

What You Get:

We are very excited to get people involved in this project.  All contributors will be gratefully acknowledged in the film credits. We have created a schedule of perks that both show our appreciation and personally connect our contributors to the film. There is even an opportunity to be on-site for the filming!

Other Ways You Can Help:

Can't donate right now? A cost-free alternative:

• Share our campaign with family and friends through Facebook, e-mail, or just plain word of mouth!