A documentary focusing on the opioid epidemic in Brown County has taken its next major step on the film festival circuit.
“The Addict’s Wake” will be screened at the Sedona (Ariz.) International Film Festival, which runs from Feb. 19-27. The feature documentary will have showings at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 and at 10 a.m. Feb. 26.
“This is my second time attending the festival where my short film ‘Grateful’ won Audience Choice for Best Documentary in 2019,” said producer Amy Pauszek, whose Where’s Amy photo column runs in Current newspapers. “It’s one of my favorite festivals, and I can’t wait to go back.”
The documentary also will be screened at the March 4-5 Heartland Film Festival Best of the Fest at the 100-year-old Historic Artcraft Theatre in Franklin. The film also will be shown at the March 24-27 Hoosier Films Annual Festival March in Bloomington.
“We have submitted and do hope to hear from other festivals, but our focus at the moment is Sedona and this exciting opportunity to have the film seen by those affected by addiction to give them stories of hope,” said Pauszek, a Geist-area resident. “We want to spark conversation about the depth and breadth of the problem to start to remove stigma and move collaboratively towards solutions to this dangerous public health crisis.”
“The Addict’s Wake” won the Heartland International Film Festival’s 2021 Indiana Spotlight Grand Prize and the Indiana Spotlight Audience Choice Award.
Director Michael Husain of Zionsville, producer/executive producer Lisa Hall, a former Fishers resident who lives in Brown County, and Pauszek were presented the Distinguished Hoosier Award by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb after a Heartland screening at Newfields in October 2021.
“Brown County residents have supported this project from the very start,” Hall said. “The community wants to heal and become healthier, no doubt. However, it was a somber response as the film screened at the Brown County Playhouse. The community as a whole experienced the many hard moments the film recorded.”
Pauszek said the film resonates with every audience.
“The feedback from other audiences has been powerful as they felt we captured the raw emotions and feelings of parents and other community stakeholders accurately in the film,” she said.
