Saturday, April 10 at 8pm
Manchester Community Center, 40 Harbor’s Point, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.
Two years ago, Manchester resident Jason Smith’s 45-year-old sister – jazz singer, actor, comedian, and mother Carla Zilbersmith – was diagnosed with ALS, a fatal and incurable disease that is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She was told she had only a few years to live, and that ALS would slowly rob her of the use of her arms and legs and the ability to sing, speak and breathe. Her brilliant and creative mind, however, remains completely intact.
Here’s what our colorful Carla had to say about that:
“Having Lou Gehrig’s Disease sucks, because I hate baseball.
I’d much rather have been diagnosed with a basketball disease.
Maybe Wilt Chamberlain Disease.
That’s the one where you have sex 20,000 times and then you die.”
“Leave Them Laughing” follows Carla as she fights a war against ALS she cannot win. She holds on to life’s pleasures as long as possible, traveling in her final months of mobility to England and The Holy Land (not the Middle East, but a theme park in Central Florida), and to Mexico to swim with dolphins. When she can no longer walk, she has “Out of Order” tattooed on both feet.
At the heart of “Leave Them Laughing” are Carla’s compelling blog entries, read in her own faltering voice:
“I don’t want to live beyond a time
when I can’t breathe my own oxygen,
eat my own food and speak my own words.
I don’t want to dig my fingernails into this life,
clutching until I draw blood.
I DO want to go gentle into that good night.
Does that make me a coward or brave?”
“Leave Them Laughing” will be making its world premiere at Toronto’s HOT DOCS festival on May 6, 2010. HOT DOCS sent 3 films to the Oscars this year, including the winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary, “The Cove.” So Carla’s film is in great company.
We’re bringing “Leave Them Laughing” to our friends in the hopes that you can help complete the film for HOT DOCS. Increasing the resolution of the film to HD for wide release, securing music and image clearances, hiring a publicist…these outstanding tasks will cost about $30,000, and funds are needed.
Please join us on April 10 at 8pm for an inspiring evening about living life to its fullest. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be touched, and you may be even changed by this remarkable film.
As one viewer of a recent fundraising screening remarked: “’Leave Them Laughing’ is a triumph of the spirit — a cold-turkey cure for self-pity and debilitating trivialities. And, with proper distribution and the enthusiastic reception it deserves, will increase awareness of ALS and those who so bravely live with it. And hopefully hasten a cure.”
Suggested donation: $20.
Donations are tax-deductible, by personal check or credit card at the screening.
Some final details: The film is 90 minutes long. Carla’s brother Jason will do a brief Q&A after the film. And popcorn will be served!
The Manchester Community Center seats 80 people, so RSVP at moirsmith@verizon.net today to reserve your seat.
Thanks to these organizations for getting the word about this fundraiser out:
ALS Family Charitable Foundation www.alsfamily.org
ALS Therapy Development Institute www.als.net
Can’t attend on April 10, but still want to help?
Make a tax-deductible contribution via PayPal or credit card to the film here: http://www.leavethemlaughingfilm.com/blog/donate/
Or send a check to the IDA (with “Leave Them Laughing’ in the subject line):
International Documentary Association
Attention: Fiscal Sponsorship Program
1201 West 5th Street, Suite M270
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Your contribution (no amount is too small!) towards reaching our $30,000 goal to finish “Leave Them Laughing,” is greatly appreciated.
Please forward this notice to all of your friends, and hopefully we’ll see you on April 10! For more information, please contact Allison at: moirsmith@verizon.net
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