THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Seehttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/glasscityfilms/limerence-a-mindbending-short-film-about-lovesickn .

Glass City Films has already had success with Kickstarter; their first campaign for the post-apocalyptic thriller Chrysalis raised over $35,000 in the summer of 2012, and the film went on to win numerous awards at over 30 film festivals around the country. Said Limerence producer John Klein about the new campaign, "We really believe in crowdfunding as a way to bring people into the discussion, to show them the process of making the movie. This isn't just a fundraising campaign for us; it's a conversation with our audience."

Limerence tells the story of a damaged and fragile young woman, Phoebe ( Angela Riccetti ), who experiences all the irrational terror of falling into obsessive love. While living an isolated life in the antique movie palace left to her by her absent parents, she meets Tig ( Michaela Petro ), a confident and outgoing woman who turns up to hawk fliers for a play. Phoebe becomes a bug on a pin, instantly and overwhelmingly caught in Tig's unwitting spell, and although her brother Alden ( Timmy Hart Barron ) is supportive, he is at a loss to be helpful in any way. Phoebe undergoes a private trip down the rabbit hole, her intense longing transmuting into visions and dreams and hysterical jealousy, which culminates in her stunning visual confession of desire and need for connection.

Writer-director Dan Pedersen crafted the story of Limerence with lead actress Riccetti. On the film's inspirations, Pedersen said in a recent interview, "Falling in love is an intense thing. It rewires you as a person. So telling a story about a very real, literal physical transformation just felt right." Locations such as the Pickwick Theater and the Music Box Theater in Chicago help to flesh out the story and mental state of Phoebe and give Limerence a level of production value rarely seen in indie film. "When the audience sees these locations, sees how demanding it is to operate that sort of projection system, they'll just get the character that much quicker," said Pedersen.

Most importantly, Limerence showcases two females in the lead roles, and treats the main character's sexual orientation with a subtle degree of normalization. "I think the same-sex angle makes this film more relatable, more universal," according to Pedersen. "We created two very different personalities but removed gender as a differentiator that might have confused the story. Whoever you are, there's someone here to identify with. And I think this makes the story more relatable as a whole, regardless of sex or sexual orientation." Klein agrees, saying, "We didn't want to make a big political statement with this film or these characters; it's about mental illness and love in an era of disconnection. But it was important to us to treat Phoebe's sexual orientation as normal, as just another aspect of her character."

Through Limerence, which will shoot later in 2016 if funding goals are met, Glass City Films continues to champion the incredibly talented cast and crew available in the Midwest. Klein says, "We've already had an amazing groundswell of support for the project through the Kickstarter campaign and social media outlets. We continue to believe Midwest crews and talent are more than par with what's available on the coasts and Limerence really showcases what we have to offer."

Visit www.limerencefilm.com for the Kickstarter campaign and updates .