5th Annual REEL Recovery Film Festival 2013
Oct. 18-24
Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex
1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Presented by Writers In Treatment
CLICK FOR SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION.
Call to Sponsor or bring your clients for free:
818-762-0461
Highlights from the 2013 REEL Recovery Film Festival in Santa Monica:
CEU’s Offered At Select Screenings
1332 2nd Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
![LA-Gold-Balboa-small[1]](https://reelrecoveryfilmfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/LA-Gold-Balboa-small1.jpg)
![LA-Silver-Northbound-small[1]](https://reelrecoveryfilmfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/LA-Silver-Northbound-small1.jpg)
![LA-Silver-Sunrise-small[1]](https://reelrecoveryfilmfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/LA-Silver-Sunrise-small1.jpg)
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1:00 PM
Successful Alcoholics (26 min)
Successful Alcoholics (2012) It’s a great poignant little film to show to budding alcoholics. Things like the DTs, memory issues and prolific vomiting aren’t especially laughable. However the pleasing attitude, and delightful performances perfectly mask the subtle yet powerful message. Starring T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, Nick Krol, Maribeth Monroe. Jordan Vogt-Roberts just enjoyed great success with this year’s summer hit, The Kings of Summer. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. 26 minutes IN PERSON: Invited Guests
2:30 PM
RADIOMAN (90 min)
RADIOMAN (2012) The NEW YORK film set mascot who overcame homelessness and alcoholism to become a fixture of the New York film industry, with over 100 small parts to his name. Directed by Mary Kerr. 90 minutes “SHREWD” The Guardian. 90 minutes IN PERSON: Mary Kerr
• “DEFT AND CLEAR EYED” Sight and Sound
• “ENGAGING AND SWEET” Empire
• “Fascinating” The Observer
• “CHARMING” Mark Kermode
• “STRANGELY COPELLING” The Times
• “DEFT AND CLEAR EYED” Sight and Sound
• “ENGAGING AND SWEET” Empire
• “Fascinating” The Observer
• “CHARMING” Mark Kermode
• “STRANGELY COPELLING” The Times
5:00 PM
Russell Brand: My life without drugs (58 min)
Russell Brand: My life without drugs (2013) Russell Brand has not used drugs for 10 years.. But temptation is never far away. He wants to help other addicts, but first he wants us to feel compassion for those affected. With a sad commentary about his friend, Amy Winehouse. Written and starring Russell Brand. 58 minutes
7:00 PM
Asymmetric (15min)
Asymmetric (2013) is the story of four people searching for an elevated state of mind through contrasting highs; two negative, and two positive. The consequences of addiction affect everyone involved, and perhaps the healing power of recovery can spread to those we touch as well. 15 mins.
IN PERSON: Producers: Mindi and Robert Pfeifer • Director: Phillip Joseph Battaglia I • Writers: Alissa Hoffman, Ben Hinkle, Collin Palomares, Jared Narbaitz, Malissa Murga, Noah Daniel, Phillip Joseph Battaglia I • Editors: Collin Palomares, Phillip Joseph Battaglia I • 1st AD: Collin Palomares • 2nd AD: Alissa Hoffman • Music Supervisor and Composer: Rishi Parbhakar• Props and Set Design: Katelyn Hammond, Sarah Frank • Cast: Malissa Murga, Noah Daniel, Spencer Piron, Ben Hinkle, Brian Liotti, Mara Hnilicka, Joshua Esfandi, Jared Narbaitz, Alissa Hoffman, Julia Barker, Alex Pugh, Nicolas William Murphy,
7:15 PM
The Silent Majority (45 min)
The Silent Majority “All teenagers, their parents and teachers need to wake up and watch The Silent Majority. Judges, Prosecutors, Public Defenders, Sheriffs, Police Chiefs, Medical Examiners have been ahead of the teen addiction story on so many tragic levels for years. With this documentary, the public can finally see solution.” FELIX VEGA prosecutor, Legal Analyst. Produced/directed/written by Leslie & Lindsey Glass
“We are so amazed by the quality and content of ‘Silent Majority’…it effectively presented Road Recovery in a very comprehensive manner. With genuine care and sensitivity for the teens we service, [the Glasses earned] the trust of our organization that has never allowed such access with cameras rolling. We watched the documentary with pure amazement and gratitude!” -Gene Bowen & Jack Bookbinder, Co-founders Road Recovery. 45 minutes
8:00 PM
REEL Recovery Film Festival with STR-8-EDGE presents: Opening Night! BUY TICKETS
REEL Recovery Film Festival with STR-8-EDGE presents: Opening Night!
Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club
1210 Fourth Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
DRESS LIKE YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE CHARACTER – Prizes! SPECIAL AWARD CEREMONY–Writers In Treatment’s RECOVERY MEDIA AWARD.
This years’s Recipient: InRecovery Magazine from ARIZONA. Celebrity presenter: author CARRIE WHITE. Special guests-National Youth Recovery Foundation
LIVE PERFORMANCE BY DJ MICHAELIS
Food. Fun. Beverages and surprises. No Booze Bar Partially sponsored by MILLENNIUM LABORATORIES. Tickets: $20
1:00PM
Brightwood (19 min)
Brightwood (2012) Drug addicts can just as easily be your ‘perfect’ family next door. The disease is a monster, it doesn’t care who it picks and the even more important message, the people it effects around you keep moving forward, with or without you. Missing out and feeling left behind is the choice we choose to make all on our own. Directed by L. Gabriel Gonda. 19 minutes
IN PERSON: Screenwriter LaDora Sella
Hiding Games (13 min) WEST COAST PREMIERE!
Hiding Games (2013)West Coast Premiere. A girl learns to cope with her mother’s meth addiction in rural Appalachia. Starring Lexi Herndon, Trey Herndon and Melissa McMeekin. Directed by Michael Wright. 13 minutes
Dear Daddy (8min) LOS ANGELES PREMIERE!
Dear Daddy (2013) LOS ANGELES premiere. This short follows young actress, Emma Walek and her dog, through a journey of love, passion and heart ache. Then the adult message. Directed by Sandra Capra. 8 minutes
IN PERSON: Director Sandra Capra
Sober (9 min)
Sober (2013) Marta McGonagle is a Los Angeles based director of her own true story. Twelve years ago she caused a drunk driving accident, which put her sister in the hospital, paralized, unable to walk again. She devloped this short film in hopes to prevent others from making the same decision. She travels around the world speaking in high schools telling her story. she has appearedon Good Morning America and will continue to share her story in hopes of saving lives. Directed by Marta McGonagle. 9 minutes
IN PERSON: Director Marta McGonagle
Sober Since (5 min)
Sober Since (2010) David, an alcoholic father, struggles to clean up his act after his 13-year-old daughter is raped by a family friend. Directed by Royce Isaac, starring Alex Lane and Madison Lawlor. 5 minutes
IN PERSON: Royce Isaac & Alex Lane
IN PERSON: Royce Isaac & Alex Lane
Within (20 min)
Within (2010) A writer follows the same destructive path as his father. Suffering from emotional pain, on the brinks of suicide, he chooses to be guided by a guardian angel who helps him discover the love and strength he needs to survive. Directed by Alex Lane. 20 minutes IN PERSON: Alex Lane
Conversation With Lucifer (20 min)
Conversation With Lucifer (2010) is about recovering drug addict, Darby Quinn, who goes through the early stages of sobriety. Though lovely and charming at times, Darby is irritable with a fuse as short as the cigarettes she chain smokes down to the filter. She is resolved to stay clean in a twelve step program, but her cat Lucifer has other ideas. Written by and starring Shevaun Kasti. Directed by Cody Boesen. 20 minutes IN PERSON: Director Cody Boesen & Shevaun Kas
Sober St. Patrick’s Day (5 min)
Sober St. Patrick’s Day Mission: “To reclaim the true spirit of the day and to change the perception and experience of what St. Patrick’s Day can be, by providing family-friendly, alcohol free events celebrating the best of Irish music, dance and comedy.” A celebration of Irish culture sans the Guinness. 5 minutes
3:30 PM
Bill W. (104 min)
Bill W. (2012) tells the story of William G. Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous with Dr. Bob Smith. Bill W. was included in TIME Magazine’s “100 Persons of the 20th Century.” Interviews, recreations, and rare archival material reveal how Bill Wilson, a hopeless drunk near death from his alcoholism, found a way out of his own addiction and then forged a path for countless others to follow. Directed by Dan Carracino and Kevin Hanlon. Starring Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob, Lois Wilson, Ebby Thatcher. 104 minutes
IN PERSON: Director/Producer Dan Carracino, In Conversation With Marcia Ullett MA, LMFT, CPC
7:00 PM
Flight (136 min)
Flight (2012) is about Whip Whitfield, a commuter airline pilot. On a flight from Orlando to Atlanta something goes wrong with the plane and with little choice he is forced to crash. Upon waking in the hospital, he learns of the fatalities and is told he could face criminal charges because his blood tested positive for drugs and alcohol. As he denies impairment of any kind, an investigation emerges, and although he is told to keep his act together, he continues to drink. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. 138 minutes
IN PERSON: Pilot Larry Smith
1:00 PM
Perfection (85 min) Los Angeles Premiere!
Perfection (2012) Los Angeles Premiere! Kristabelle, still living with her Mother, cuts herself to feel alive. Her Mother, addicted to plastic surgery also cuts herself trying to maintain her youth. Through the help of a pot smoking young lover, a newly sober British stand up comic and Chinese medicine they all find that love and beauty can be more than skin deep. Directed, starring and written by Christina Beck. 85 minutes IN PERSON: Director Christina Beck
3:00 PM
It Takes All Types (77 min)
It Takes All Types (2013) A generous and gentle film made in West Hollywood, California. Stories that explains and illustrates the joys and pitfalls of sobriety. A powerful independent film using the faces and voices of local recovering men and women. Special appearance by Leslie Jordan. Directed and starring, Chuck Coleman. 77 minutes
IN PERSON: Chuck Coleman & Leslie Jordan
IN PERSON: Chuck Coleman & Leslie Jordan
7:00 PM
Behind the Orange Curtain (60 min)
Behind the Orange Curtain (2012) Delves into the staggering epidemic of teenage Rx drug abuse deaths in one of the most affluent counties in America. Who is to blame? Doctors? Pharmaceutical Company’s? Par- ents? Or Our Society? Young, privileged teenagers are dying of overdoses at record numbers in Orange County, California. This fearless documentary asks the hard questions and helps edu- cate parents and kids. Directed by Brent Huff. Starring Aisha Armer, Jodi Barber, and Geoff Blaylock. 60 minutes IN PERSON: Co-producer, Jamison Monroe Jr. & Natalie Costa
9:00 PM
The Man with a Golden Arm (119 min)
The Man with a Golden Arm (1955) Strung-out junkie deals with daily demoralizing drug addiction while crippled wife and card sharks continue to pull him down. Sinatra is superb, especially in a harrowing withdrawal scene. It’s his movie…all the way. Starring Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak and Arnold Stang, Directed by Otto Preminger. 119 minutes
1:00 PM
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Charlie Rules the World (24 min)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Charlie Rules the world (2012) The gang starts playing an online video game and Charlie becomes obsessed with becoming the best player in the game. Meanwhile, Dennis is upset everyone else is playing the game all the time and not out enjoying the real world. Directed by Matt Shakman. 24 minutes
IN PERSON: Discussion facilitated by Devorah Rader, Ph.D.
IN PERSON: Discussion facilitated by Devorah Rader, Ph.D.
Successful Alcoholics
Successful Alcoholics (2012) It’s a great poignant little film to show to budding alcoholics. Things like the DTs, memory issues and prolific vomiting aren’t especially laughable. However the pleasing attitude, and delightful performances perfectly mask the subtle yet powerful message. Starring T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, Nick Krol, Maribeth Monroe. Jordan Vogt-Roberts just enjoyed great success with this year’s summer hit, The Kings of Summer. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. 26 minutes
IN PERSON: Discussion facilitated by Attorney Larry Wolf
IN PERSON: Discussion facilitated by Attorney Larry Wolf
3:00 PM
The Last Fix (69 min)
The Last Fix (2010) The audience was transfixed and touched by the stories of several recovering drug addicts and one young man addicted to alcohol as they moved through the supportive steps of the Drug Court program of the East End, initiated by Southampton Town Justice Deborah Kooperstein. Director Jacqui Lofaro and Victor Telch. 69 minutes
IN PERSON: Discussion facilitated by Devorah Rader, Ph.D.
5:00 PM
Perseverance: The Story of Dr. Billy Taylor(52 min)
Perseverance: The Story of Dr. Billy Taylor (2012) is the inspiring tale of one of college football’s great running backs. Taylor was an early soldier in Bo’s “10 Year War” with Woody Hayes and experienced greatness on college football’s biggest stage. After graduating, a series of personal setbacks brought his world crashing down. A redemptive story for all ages, PERSE- VERANCE tracks Taylor’s rise, and his battles with substance abuse, incarceration and homelessness over the course of 25 years, in a dogged fight to recover his health, regain his faith, and restore his family. Directed by Dan Chace & Bob Hercules. 52 minutes IN PERSON: Directed by Dan Chace & Bob Hercules
7:00 PM
Paul Williams Still Alive (2012)
Paul Williams Still Alive (2012) Charming, poignant and very funny, this documentary is a wonderful testament to a truly gifted artist for whom the end of fame was not the end of him, thanks to his 12-step lifestyle. Starring Paul Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Blake, Willie Nelson, Warren Beatty, Deborah Harry. Directed by Stephen Kessler. 84 minutes IN PERSON: Paul Williams
9:00 PM
Most High (95 min)
Most High ( 2004) is a painfully intimate examination of a young man in crisis. Nonjudgmental yet brutally honest, Most High is about the very nature of addiction. It paints an eerily accurate picture of how a Normal Joe can quickly end up in the dankest pits of despair. Phenomenal DiNiro like performance and transformation by actor/director Marty Sader. With stunning and sexually potent Laura Keys. 95 minutes
1:00 PM
Trip the Movie (80 min)
Trip (2011) is an astounding award winning film that grew out of the blazing theatrical production of, “Delirium Tremens” by actor, playwright, director, screenwriter and film producer, FRAN LEPE. The country of Guatemala has shown this film to over 55,000 students in it’s program for prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and child abuse. An exhilarating portrait of addiction, denial and redemption. Funny too. Spanish with sub-titles. Directed by Fran Lepe. 80 minutes
3:00 PM
Owning Mahowny (105 min) 10th Anniversary Screening!
Owning Mahowny (2003) 10th Anniversary Screening, casts an unflinching gaze into a window of addiction of a sort not often portrayed honestly in films. Absolutely worth seeing for Hoffman’s performance alone, but there’s also enough Casino / Heist excitement to keep you entertained. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history. Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver and John Hurt. Directed By: Richard Kwietniowski. 105 minutes
5:15PM
Invisible War (60 min)
The Invisble War (2012) (Special Edition) is an engrossing, deeply moving, and disturbing documentary that likely will leave no viewer untouched. The Invisible War, directed by Kirby Dick, shines a light on one of America’s most shocking occurrences–the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the armed services. And when some victims–men and women–have come forward to report the crimes, the victims often face a second assault: commanding officers who either don’t believe them or who refuse to do anything about the crime.
The Invisible War aired at Sundance in 2012, it won the Audience Award–and press coverage that began a military investigation into the ways each branch of the service handles sexual assaults. One statistic alone is shocking: more than 20 percent of active-duty servicewomen are sexually assaulted. Directed by Kirbly Dick. Starirng Amy Ziering, Kirby Dick and Kori Cioca. 60 minutes
IN PERSON: Karol Darsa, Psy.D. & Joanne Mednick, MFT, Psy.D
8:00 PM
The House I Live In (138 min)
The House I Live In (2002) A compelling investigation into the roots of America’s war on drugs, which has massively increased prison numbers whilst failing to reduce drug abuse. Our search for easy answers to the evil of drugs is an addiction we must wean ourselves from. “The House i Live In” lease you shaking your head in deadened wonder at the waste of it all. Directed by: Eugene Jaraki. 138 minutes
1:00PM Afternoon with New Direction For Women
Brightwood (19 min)
Brightwood (2012) Drug addicts can just as easily be your ‘perfect’ family next door. The disease is a monster, it doesn’t care who it picks and the even more important message, the people it effects around you keep moving forward, with or without you. Missing out and feeling left behind is the choice we choose to make all on our own. Directed by L. Gabriel Gonda. 19 minutes IN PERSON: Screenwriter LaDora Sella
Hiding Games (13 min) WEST COAST PREMIERE!
Hiding Games (2013)West Coast Premiere. A girl learns to cope with her mother’s meth addiction in rural Appalachia. Starring Lexi Herndon, Trey Herndon and Melissa McMeekin. Directed by Michael Wright. 13 minutes IN PERSON: Writer/producer/director Michael Wright with the leading cast members
Dear Daddy (8min) LOS ANGELES PREMIERE!
Dear Daddy (2013) LOS ANGELES premiere. This short follows young actress, Emma Walek and her dog, through a journey of love, passion and heart ache. Then the adult message. Directed by Sandra Capra. 8 minutes
IN PERSON: Director Sandra Capra
IN PERSON: Director Sandra Capra
Sober (9 min)
Sober (2013) Marta McGonagle is a Los Angeles based director of her own true story. Twelve years ago she caused a drunk driving accident, which put her sister in the hospital, paralized, unable to walk again. She devloped this short film in hopes to prevent others from making the same decision. She travels around the world speaking in high schools telling her story. she has appeared on Good Morning America and will continue to share her story in hopes of saving lives. Directed by Marta McGonagle. 9 minutes IN PERSON: Marta McGonagle
Sober Since (5 min)
Sober Since (2010) David, an alcoholic father, struggles to clean up his act after his 13-year-old daughter is raped by a family friend. Directed by Royce Isaac, starring Alex Lane and Madison Lawlor. 5 minutes
Within (20 min)
Within (2010) A writer follows the same destructive path as his father. Suffering from emotional pain, on the brinks of suicide, he chooses to be guided by a guardian angel who helps him discover the love and strength he needs to survive. Directed by Alex Lane. 20 minutes IN PERSON: Director Alex Lane
Conversation With Lucifer (2010) Meet Darby Quinn, a recovering addict going through the early stages of sobriety. Though lovely to look at, and quite charming at times, Darby is irritable and rash, with a fuse short as the cigarettes she chain smokes down to the filter. She is resolved to stay clean in a twelve-step program, but her cat Lucifer has other ideas. A charming and rightful look at early recovery from a seductive woman’s point of view. Written by and starring Shevaun Kasti. 20 minutes IN PERSON: Director Cody Boesen & Shevaun Kastl
4:00PM
Invisible Young (74 min)
Invisible Young (2012) tells the life stories of four young adults who were homeless as teenagers. It looks at their families, their day to-day lives, their possible fates, and follows them as they strive for a hopeful, prosperous future. Set in Seattle, WA, this extremely well made and beautiful documentary shines truth on the intersection of homelessness and drug addiction. Directed by Steve Keller. 74 minutes
IN PERSON: Director Steve Keller
IN PERSON: Director Steve Keller
6:00PM
Perseverance: The Story of Dr. Billy Taylor (52 min)
Perseverance: The Story of Dr. Billy Taylor (2012) is the inspiring tale of one of college football’s great running backs. Taylor was an early soldier in Bo’s “10 Year War” with Woody Hayes and experienced greatness on college football’s biggest stage. After graduating, a series of personal setbacks brought his world crashing down. A redemptive story for all ages, PERSEVERANCE tracks Taylor’s rise, and his battles with substance abuse, incarceration and homelessness over the course of 25 years, in a dogged fight to recover his health, regain his faith, and restore his family. Directed by Dan Chace & Bob Hercules. 52 minutes
IN PERSON: Directed by Dan Chace & Bob Hercules along with Dr. Billy Taylor
IN PERSON: Directed by Dan Chace & Bob Hercules along with Dr. Billy Taylor
8:00 – 9:30PM
Rick Shydner’s Comedy Explosion
Ritch Shydner’s Comedy Explosion with Danielle Stewart and LA’s hottest standup comedians starting at 8. Tickets $15
1:00 PM
Acts Of Worship (85 min)
Acts of Worship (2003) 10 Year Anniversary! This feels like more than a movie… it’s as if there was some sort of peephole into the addict’s world of real people living from one fix to the next in New York City. The acting in this movie is impeccable. Not since 1971′s Panic in Needle Park has there been such an honest and nitty gritty portrayal of a young druggie in Lower Manhattan and her friendship with a photographer, who happens to be a former junkie as well. Well known stage actress Ana Reeder is a revelation. Directed by Rosemary Rodri- guez, starring Ana Reeder, Michael Hyatt and Nestor Rodriguez. 94 minutes IN PERSON: Rosemary Rodriguez
3:00PM
Drunk In Public (80 min)
Drunk In Public (2013) In 1994, custody officer/writer-filmmaker David J. Sperling began to document the life of Mark David Allen, a 33 year old alcoholic in an attempt to help Mark get sober. Over the next 18 years, Sperling put together a cinematic diary of Mark’s dark, yet remarkable journey. Final and updated version of the 17 year chronicle of the magical, extraordinary and tragic life of dedicated alcoholic Mark David Allen. Directed by David J. Sperling. 80 minutes
IN PERSON: Director David J. Sperling
5:00PM
May I Be Frank (90 min)
My I Be Frank (2011) It is the life of Frank Ferrante himself. Frank is a 54-year-old man who has abused food, alcohol, drugs– including heroin, but in return they have abused him even more. Frank has spent a life giving in to every temptation until he weighs 290 pounds plus, has Hepatitis C, is nearly diabetic, and has alienated his family. Addicted to drugs and morbidly obese, Frank Ferrante hands his life over to the owners of a raw, vegan café, who commit to helping him change his ways over the course of 42 days, and give him a second chance at finding future fulfillment and happiness. 90 minutes
IN PERSON: Frank Ferrante
8:00PM
Perseverance: The Story of Dr. Billy Taylor (52 min)
Perseverance: The Story of Dr. Billy Taylor (2012) is the inspiring tale of one of college football’s great running backs. Taylor was an early soldier in Bo’s “10 Year War” with Woody Hayes and experienced greatness on college football’s biggest stage. After graduating, a series of personal setbacks brought his world crashing down. A redemptive story for all ages, PERSEVERANCE tracks Taylor’s rise, and his battles with substance abuse, incarceration and homelessness over the course of 25 years, in a dogged fight to recover his health, regain his faith, and restore his family. Directed by Dan Chace & Bob Hercules. 52 minutes
IN PERSON: Directed Dan Chace & Bob Hercules along with Dr. Billy Taylor
IN PERSON: Directed Dan Chace & Bob Hercules along with Dr. Billy Taylor
8:00PM
Closing Night Reception
TBA
