MS'ed With The Wrong Girl

Exhausted but never tired, a woman living with MS pushes from one activity to another wondering if life can be normal.

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Length22:07

DirectorKelly Wolfert

GenreDocumentary

Video

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Synopsis

Patrycia was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2012 after losing sight in her left eye. Since then, Patrycia has figured out her life’s purpose: eliminating the disease. Today she is one of Edmonton’s most active spokespersons for the MS Society. Patrycia stays active to combat her MS by participating in walks, bike tours and fundraisers, earning her a National Philanthropy Day Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Even with all this success, Patrycia has sacrificed a lot. Through her unattainable dream to work in law enforcement and the fact that living with a chronic illness has stigma attached to it, how is it possible to live a “normal life”? This documentary will show how Patrycia navigates her difficult yet amazing life, living for others, and giving back.

The team

Meet the team who have taken it upon themselves to share Patrycia's feisty story. We are a multi-tasking, filmmaking force with camera skills, rental gear, and production prowess. We are honoured to share this project with you.

Julia GrochowskiEditor, Producer, Social Media Strategist

Kelly WolfertDirector, Writer, Producer, Camera Operator

Braden RookeEditor, Production Manager, Camera Operator

Production Design

This film will be shot with a cinéma vérité style to give the audience a first-hand experience into Patrycia’s life living with Multiple Sclerosis. While cinematic interviews of Patrycia’s, her family, and her friends will drive the story forward and discover context and depth to her story, our goal is to keep the audience freeing they are alongside Patrycia as much as possible. If a filmmaker can make their audience feel like they have lived a moment with the central character, empathy will make the experience and impact more powerful.

Patrycia's tattoo and a reminder of her strength.

The crew will use high quality acquisition with UHD, Sony FS7 cameras to capture Patrycia’s story as much as possible. Living with MS is a 24/7 battle that consists of ups and downs through every day of Patrycia’s life, and while we want to be there to capture her everyday reality, that is not always possible. For those moments, Patrycia has agreed to use her iPhone to create a diary of sorts and she will film herself in those moments we are not there, adding another layer of intimacy between her story and our audience.

“MS’ed With The Wrong Girl” will be a character-driven film with a focus on showing an honest insight into Patrycia’s life at the best of times and at the rock-bottom worst. Multiple sclerosis is a challenging condition since some of those affected don’t look like they have health challenges. We are going to transcend those barriers and show the challenges of living with MS. This insight will give context to our hero’s vulnerability, adaptability, and strength, and inspire those who also struggle to stay positive and keep fighting.