Newly-Released Feature Film "Change Of Life" Spotlights the Consequences of Hate and Shows Fred Phelps and His Westboro Baptist Church Members How to Find Redemption That Can Truly be Life Changing

    KANSAS CITY, MO, December 11, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The fact that Rev. Fred Phelps' Kansas-based, Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket Elizabeth Edwards' (the estranged wife of Presidential Candidate John Edwards) funeral this Saturday, along with the fact that repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) got defeated, and the recent gay bullying ending in teen suicides, all combines to show that racism and bigotry toward the GLBT community is still very much a part of American life and is entrenched in the belief systems of people. The independent film, "Change of Life", 2009 Winner Best Spiritual Film at the Great Lakes Independent Film Festival, eerily echoes these recent events and is just as, if not more, relevant than ever before. The film sends an important message of love, tolerance and acceptance.

"Change of Life", shot in the"bible belt" (Kansas City), tells the story of bigoted minister and radio talk show host, Gary Cattell, a Fred Phelps-type character who leads his congregation in the persecution of gays and lesbians. When his estranged, lesbian daughter commits suicide on the air, Gary asks God to show him what he did wrong. The next morning, Gary awakens to find that God has answered his prayer. Time has rewound itself two weeks and his daughter is still alive. But redemption comes at a price. Gary finds his soul now inhabits the body of his daughter's best friend -- a gay man - and is forced to experience, firsthand, the prejudice and bigotry meted out by his followers.

Even more amazing - the director, University of Kansas film school Graduate, Amy McClung, was only 20 years old during the time of filming. Before beginning this project Amy reluctantly revealed to her family that she was gay. This revelation was quite a shock at first, but both parents opened their arms with love and acceptance for their daughter. Amy's mother devotedly took on the duties of Unit Production Manager and was an invaluable part of the Change of Life crew.

"Change of Life", recently distributed by Ariztical Entertainment is now available on Netflix, Amazon.com, and Blockbuster.com. Film Festivals: Great Lakes Independent Film Festival 2009 WINNER Best Spiritual Film; LA Femme Film Festival 2009 Official Selection; Swansea Bay Film Festival 2010 Official Selection; South Africa International Film Festival 2009 Official Selection

We've created a website for the movie which has a fabulous trailer for viewing, additional detailed information about the film and links to organizations that promote tolerance and diversity: www.changeoflifefilm.com.

"Every man thinks of changing the world, but no man thinks of changing himself." Leo Tolstoy (1854-1910)-film opening quote

About Amy McClung: Amy McClung is an aspiring filmmaker and founder of Blue Wave Productions. In addition to directing and editing "Change of Life" (her first feature) she has also produced numerous commercials, music videos and public service announcements for local government television. For more info on Amy, visit:
www.bluewavevideoproduction.com and email [email protected].

About Jon Weimer: Jon Weimer is the Executive Producer/Writer for "Change of Life" which is his first completed feature film. He is currently producing three other features that are either in development, production, and/or post-production. In 2002 Jon walked away from a six figure income in finance to pursue a career in filmmaking founding Agent Provocateur Films. His mission is to create commercially marketable independent feature films with a socially conscious focus.

Links

Change of Life on Amazon.com
Change of Life Fan/Group Facebook page
Change of Life Trailer on Youtube
IMDB
Ariztical Entertainment

For more information contact:

Kris Stankiewicz
Agent Provocateur Films
Studio City, Ca
Tel: 818-761-1815 or
Cell: 913-515-1924
[email protected]

Jon Weimer
Agent Provocateur Films
415 E. Gregory
Kansas City, Mo. 64131
Cell: 816-456-3455
[email protected]
[email protected]

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