FILM: Keep The Change

Keep The Change Opens Friday May 4 (length of run may be extended)

Film inspired by Adaptations a community for adults on the autism spectrum that meets at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Manhattan.

Two adults on the autism spectrum strike up an unlikely and transformative relationship
in Rachel Israel’s charming romantic comedy with a message of acceptance and inclusion.

Show times daily: 11:45 am, 2:40 pm, 4:30 pm, 6:40 pm and 8:50 pm

When aspiring filmmaker David (Brandon Polansky) is mandated by a judge to attend a social program at the Jewish Community Center, he is sure of one thing: he doesn’t belong there. But when he’s assigned to visit the Brooklyn Bridge with the vivacious Sarah (Samantha Elisofon), sparks fly and his convictions are tested. Their budding relationship must weather Sarah’s romantic past, David’s judgmental mother (Jessica Walter), and their own pre-conceptions of what love is supposed to look like. Under the guise of an off-kilter New York romantic comedy, KEEP THE CHANGE does something quite radical in offering a refreshingly honest portrait of a community seldom depicted on the big screen. Rarely has a romcom felt so deep and poignant. Thoroughly charming and quite funny, the film’s warmth and candor brings growth and transformation to the characters, and ultimately, to us.
While David struggles to come to terms with his own autism, he unexpectedly falls for Sarah, a quirky and outgoing woman whose lust for life both irks and fascinates him. As David and Sarah’s relationship evolves, KEEP THE CHANGE blossoms into a refreshingly off-kilter story about the ups-and-downs of romantic love– and the rewards of acceptance, self-love and mutual trust.

Film Director Rachel Israel cast KEEP THE CHANGE with non-professional actors from Adaptation and she worked closely with them to create fictional versions of themselves for the film.

An endearing and naturalistic romantic comedy about people navigating the difficulties of a relationship, Keep the Change details an underrepresented community with authenticity, optimism and humor.