The Slender Thread
Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. One night when at the clinic alone, a woman calls up the number and tells Alan that she needs to talk to someone. She informs Alan she took a load of pills, and he secretly tries to get help. During this time, he learns more about the woman, her family life, and why she wants to die. Can Alan get the cavalry to save her in time before it's too late?
Overdose
Paco, the teenage son of a Civil Guard commander in Basque Country, becomes addicted to heroin.
Trapped in a Purple Haze
When a charismatic teenager falters under constant pressure from his parents and school, he makes a potentially deadly mistake.
The Phone Call
Heather is a shy lady who works in a helpline call centre. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man, she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever.
Habit
Manchester, the present. Michael divides his time between the job center and the pub. A chance meeting with Lee, an introduction to her Uncle Ian and a heavy night on the lash lead to a job working the door at a Northern Quarter massage parlor. After witnessing the violent death of one of the punters, Michael experiences blood-drenched flashbacks and feels himself being sucked into a twilight world that he doesn't understand but that is irresistibly attractive. When he eventually finds out what goes on in the room below Cloud 9, Michaels' life will never be the same again.
Withdrawal
Artistic lovers, Viv and Jay, have become trapped in a vicious cycle of codependent heroin addiction. But when Viv’s wealthy parents hire an interventionist to take Viv to rehab, the couple decides to set off on their own with the help of a suboxone prescription... all they have to do is survive a harrowing night through drug withdrawal.
Cholera Street
Salih is a mechanic and the son of a respected barber named Ali. A woman named Tina arrives at Cholera Street, where she takes up residence and works as a prostitute.
I Dreamt Under the Water
Antoine, a handsome boy in his 20s, falls for a straight best friend who does not reciprocate, and being a junkie exits the film quite early. Enter a girl, who seems to make him happy again, after he has tried living as a rent boy with men, having some familial, financial difficulties. But the girl is a junkie too.
Putty Hill
Friends and family of Cory, a young man who has died of an overdose, gather at a Baltimore-area karaoke bar for his wake and compare stories about him. Gradually, as it becomes clear that there are many holes in their recollections about Cory, they fill in the blanks by talking about things that reveal aspects of their own lives. Among those mourning him and searching for meaning are his cousin Jenny, his sister Zoe and his brother James.
Acts of Mercy
Under the thumb of Nurse Baker, Nurse Maggie Collins struggles to care for the long-term residents of Moss Oak Manor, a home for the elderly. When good intentions are misinterpreted, Maggie must struggle to address issues of ambition and ethics.
Die Letzte Droge
Three friends decide to find one of the worlds most powerful drugs. And ingest it. A gonzo documentary that takes you to and beyond the edge of the world.
All for Nikki
Failed musician Kyle Cassidy is in love with Nikki Duke, the charismatic wife of an abusive rock star who's away on tour. After a wild evening at the Dukes' Hollywood Hills mansion, Nikki passes out and bumps her head. Kyle, in a drug-fueled panic, calls 911. When two newly partnered paramedics arrive at the scene, they rouse Nikki, patch up Kyle, and then attempt to rob the pair - a plan that quickly goes awry, sending the group on a dark, hilarious adventure into the Los Angeles night.
After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped
You've read the stories, you've seen the documentaries. Now see the movie that brings it all to life.
Where Is Francis?
An absurd, original and bawdy comedy about a hapless Boy, who tries to save his girlfriend, who is forced to work as a prostitute while trying to elude a drug dealer.
Bliss
After a tragic series of events in his life, Rob discovers the over-the-counter drug known as codeine. The effects of the pill are so strong and addictive, that soon, Rob becomes dependant and consumes them daily. But the less he feels the more he misses, as his life degrades into a deep, dangerous, oblivion of bliss.
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy
Follow filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as she creates an intimate portrait of her community and the impacts of the substance use and overdose epidemic. Witness the change brought by community members with substance-use disorder, first responders and medical professionals as they strive for harm reduction in the Kainai First Nation.
All My Tomorrows
A Centron Film presentation, produced by Gordon-Kerchoff, this color film is about a teenage girl who overdoses on alcohol and pills, and winds up in a coma, opens with the girl recovering in a hospital bed. This scare film from 1979 is essentially a public service announcement on the dangers of getting involved in drugs and the horrible effects that using drugs and overdosing can have on an individual and their loved ones.
Holding Trevor
After finally breaking up with his drug-addicted lover, Trevor begins a new romance that unexpectedly complicates his other relationships.
Overdose - Run for a Dream
As the carrier of a nation's hopes, there is a lot riding on Overdose. The successes of Hungary's premier racehorse have provided welcome relief from a decades-long legacy of fiscal austerity. But with Big Business cashing in on this symbol of optimism, the horse soon becomes a pawn in a game of egos and politics.
A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan
Jamaa Fanaka’s first project plays off the Blaxploitation’s genre conventions, an adaption of Goethe’s “Faust” presented with a non-synchronous soundtrack and superimposed over a remake of Super Fly (1972). Often out of focus with an overactive camera, the film immediately exudes nervous energy, but unlike Priest’s elegant cocaine consumption in Super Fly, Willie’s arm gushes blood as he injects heroin. A morality tale in two reels. —Jan-Christopher Horak