WANTED: Crohn's End

What is this?

My name is Reid, I'm the director of WANTED: Crohn's End (WCE) and I have overcome Crohn’s disease.

WCE is a documentary about empowered patients with Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis who use controversial alternatives when nothing else works.

I started this fundraising campaign to raise enough funds so that I can focus all of my attention on finishing the WCE, and release it in June 2013.

The film tells the story of several empowered patients who struggle to get their lives back from debilitating, sometimes life threatening inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Not only are they up against one of the most difficult digestive diseases to treat, but they are taking a lonely path by choosing to use alternative medicines.

The alternative path is fraught with a lack of research, scorn by medical professionals, and inaccessibility due to US FDA regulations.

Why?

I need to raise $33,000 by February 15th, 2013 to ensure I can spend 100% of my working time on it. The money will be used for various production costs such as:

• Animations
• Infographics
• Post-production coloring and audio
• Marketing
• Packaging & distribution
• Membership and web hosting fees (fiscal sponsorship, web hosting)

Accomplishments

Since 2010 when I successfully rasied over $11,000 to kickstart production, I have flown across North America to interview with empowered patients to document their stories, and learn from them which remedies worked for them. I have conducted over 20 interviews.

I have documented whether their treatments have worked for me via excel spreadsheets and video testimonials.

I have created several web videos during production all on my own, doing the videography, interviewing, directing, tech setup, writing, editing, and publishing.

I finished filming in November 2012, and have moved into editing the film's storyline, recently completing 40 minutes of one person's story.

In the first week of December, I was featured on Crohnology.com's "The Voices of Crohn's and Colitis Awareness".

The last interview I conducted was with Sandor Katz, author of several books on fermented foods, mostly recently having released The Art of Fermentation. That was really exciting for me since I'm such a big geek about fermented food and reclaiming control over our food production.

The Impact

During production, I have been told that my web videos and online information have helped others to change their lifestyle into a healthstyle, and that they’ve never felt better.

With the release of the film, I know it can change the lives of many in very profound ways. Your contribution to this campaign will mean you are an integral part in helping end the suffering that many with IBD experience daily.

The film will inform patients about all of their options, and give them a powerful framework I call the 5-R’s that will help them decide how to treat their IBD holistically and comprehensively.

No longer will patients sit idle as their overworked and under-educated doctor hastily prescribes risky medications and threatens to perform life altering surgery. No longer are patients going to be frightened and intimidated. They will become empowered and thrive.

Meeting or exceeding my fundraising goal of $33,000 will ensure I finish the film and release it in June 2013.

Ways You Can Help

• Donate to this fundraising campaign (remember, US residents get a tax-deduction plus their reward!)
• Share links to this campaign on your website, blogs, web-forums, social media (Facebook & Twitter), and anywhere else you imagine.
• Invite me to be interviewed by you or for me write a guest post on your website. I will link to you in a blog post about the coverage this fundraiser has received. My email is reid -at- crohnsend.com.

Rewards!

Thanks to a partnership between my fiscal sponsor (Fractured Atlas) and Indiegogo, all donations will be tax-deductible for US residents, and you will receive rewards based on donating a certain amount. Everyone outside of the US will still get awesome rewards!

NOTE: If you backed my original Kickstarter fundraiser in 2010, those rewards are still coming upon release! Feel free to donate again and receive more rewards, or at the very least, please share this fundraiser with your network of contacts.

Special First Week ONLY Reward

Donate within the first week from January 8th through January 15th 11:59pm PST, and in addition to the rewards below, you will receive access to watch a 10 minute rough cut of one empowered patient's story. You'll watch Tara Rosas' story about her struggles with Crohn's disease, the conventional treatments, and how she recovered. After January 15th, this special reward will NOT be available.

The following rewards will be available for the duration of the fundraiser.

$1 “Newsletter Subscription” – You will be subscribed to a private, backer only newsletter and receive the inside scoop with what is going on during production. You will also receive good karma and happy thoughts for being so awesome!

$15 “Digital Download” – Backer newsletter, film credit as a funder, and a digital download of DVD version. Movie will have English subtitles.

$30 “DVD” – Backer newsletter, film credit as a funder, and a DVD of the movie. Movie will have English subtitles.

$60 “Bonus Features” – Backer newsletter, film credit as a funder, and a DVD + bonus features. Movie and bonus features will have English subtitles.

$150 “SCD Lifestyle Online Class” – Backer newsletter, film credit as a funder, a DVD + bonus features, and SCD Lifestyle's "Troubleshooting Your Digestion" online class.

This class will teach you how to tune into the subtle clues your body is already giving you, so you know exactly what changes to make next so you can achieve better results with SCD, GAPS, and Paleo type nutritional healing plans. The course will be delivered soon after fundraiser ends.

$250 “Your Story” – Backer newsletter, film credit as a funder, DVD + bonus features, and inclusion of your personally recorded video (no more than 3 min) of your health story included as bonus material.

Record your health story in 3 minutes or less and I will include the video or audio of your recording in the bonus features of the DVD.

Videos & audio will come with a statement that I do not specifically endorse the information and opinions expressed by you.

$500 “Sponsor” – Backer newsletter, film credit as a sponsor, DVD + bonus features. If you have a business or website you are trying to promote, your business logo and website address will be displayed in the beginning or end of the film as a sponsor, similar to PBS sponsor identification. These are not advertisements and I will not be including your marketing taglines, only your logo and website address.

$1000 “Producer” – Backer newsletter, film credit as "Producer", DVD + bonus features, and you will be sent rough cuts of works in progress. Works in progress might include the first 5 minutes of the film, a 20 minute interview segment with a doctor, animation work, and more.