Et glas vand til Johnie

Uncomfortably Comfortable

November 2021 •German

In the spring of 2018, the filmmaker Maria Petschnig befriended Marc who at that time was living in his car in Brooklyn for more than a year, while also holding a day job. Petschnig started to record his life and struggle, his thoughts, routines, etc. over the course of two years.

Shado'man

November 2013 •English

In Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, a group of friends lives on the streets. They call themselves the Freetown Streetboys, even though there are some women among them as well. Suley, Lama, David, Alfred, Shero and Sarah have all faced enormous physical and psychological challenges, and have been abandoned by the world around them. Without commentary and in poetic, cinematic images, the camera records the dark environment that they inhabit. The group shares their heartrending stories of the precarious nature of life in this complex country. But there is also room for everyday personal struggles, such as starting relationships, how to bring up children (or not), and sex.

The Business of Recovery

March 2015 •English

The Business of Recovery examines the untold billions that are being made off of families in crisis. With little regulation or science, addiction treatment has become a cash cow business that continues to grow while deaths pile up.

Megacities

August 1998 •English

Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.

The Distant Drummer: A Movable Scene

January 1970 •English

Robert Mitchum narrates an anti drug propaganda film.

Hi, My Name is Dicky

July 2020 •English

Hi, My Name is Dicky is a sports documentary about hockey player Richard Clune, and his struggle with substance use disorder while playing in the National Hockey League (NHL). The story begins in Toronto, where we learn about his typical Canadian childhood, then moves onto his teenage experience with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Sarnia Sting. During his time in the OHL, Rich developed a crippling addiction to drugs and alcohol, which threatened to derail both his personal life and professional career. Shortly after debuting in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings, Rich made the choice to get sober, embarking on a wild journey to the rehab clinic back home in Canada, from his brother's dormitory in Worcester, Massachusetts. Sober for over ten years, the viewer learns how Rich leads a fascinating life off the ice, and has become a mentor to many players in the NHL, now in the twilight of his career playing for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.

Chasing The Lion

October 2017 •English

Chasing The Lion is the story of Lionel Sanders' ascent from drug abuse and mental illness to one of the best up-and-coming long-distance triathletes in the world.

OG: The Harry Jumonji Story

February 2017 •English

'OG' is a film about a legendary, Brazilian born, NYC skateboarder, Harry Jumonji. In the course of telling his story, through his triumphs and travails, Jumonji emerges in this portrait as an adolescent innocent, much like skateboarding itself. He is irrepressible, manically energetic and ultimately, pure. He has a transcendent presence, well beyond charm or charisma, of such unalloyed joy that nothing he does is unforgiveable. This is fortunate because, as a drug addict, unsurprisingly, he lies, cheats and steals. Harry is rendered as the poet, the sprite, the artist and the street saint he is.

Ibogaine: Rite of Passage

September 2004 •English

Ibogaine is a plant extract that stops drug addiction. In this documentary, a 34-year-old heroin addict undergoes ibogaine therapy with Dr Martin Polanco at the Ibogaine Association, a clinic in Rosarito, Mexico. In Gabon, where use of the iboga root is traditional, a Babongo woman's tribe uses the plant to help her recover from a depressive malaise. Director Benjamin De Loenen interviews people formerly addicted to heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, who share their perspectives about ibogaine treatment.

North by Current

March 2021 •English

Filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown following the death of his infant niece and the subsequent arrest of his brother-in-law as the culprit. Using the audio-visual approaches of essay film, first-person cinema vérité, staged actions, and decades of home movies, Madsen navigates a town steeped in opioid addiction, economic depression, and religious fervor, while using the act of filmmaking to rebuild familial bonds and reimagine justice. Posing empathy as a tool for creating a more just world, North By Current does not seek to investigate a crime, but creates a relentless portrait of an enduring pastoral family, poised to reframe and reimagine narratives about incarceration, addiction, trans embodiment, and ruralness.

Human Garbage

July 2016 •English

A look at the homeless problem in Manchester

Pages of Hope

June 2024 •English

Homeless man Robert (Bobby) Webb discovers the art of filmmaking, turning pages of his life into a heartfelt reel. Through his journey he finds hope and new meanings in unexpected aspects of his life as he relives them.

The Weird World of LSD

April 1967 •English

The 60s equivalent of Reefer Madness and all those other 30s drug exploitation flicks. Apparently, dropping acid leads to stripteases, cat fights, promiscuous sex, playing with kittens, and being convinced your dinner is much larger than it actually is. This is all illustrated in a series of silent sketches accompanied by a droll narrator who seems positively doped out of his mind.

Picture Proof

March 2023 •English

Examines the intergenerational impact of addiction by chronicling the love, labor, loss, and uncertainty of one woman’s struggle to live a life of sobriety. Weaving together moments of glee, fulfillment, acceptance, sorrow, and disappointment, this documentary takes an intimate look at the bonds that hold one family together and a disease that threatens to tear them apart.

The Self-Destruction of Gia

May 2003 •English

Filmmaker JJ Martin explores Gia Carangi's life through rare home movies and photos, previously unseen interviews with Gia, and contemporary interviews with family, friends, and associates.

Hotel Laide

May 2017 •Portuguese

Mr. Untouchable

October 2007 •English

The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. Follow his life story from his rough childhood to the last days of his life.

Huxley on Huxley

March 2009 •English

Italian-born Laura Huxley, a teenage violin virtuoso, played for European royalty and made her American debut at Carnegie Hall before leaving the concert stage to become a renowned psychotherapist and author. In 1956 Laura married Aldous Huxley, author of BRAVE NEW WORLD, literary giant and prophet of the 20th century.

What World Do You Live In?

Invalid date •English

A collaborative video and activism project between long-time community filmmaker Rebecca Garrett and Sanctuary, a church community drop-in, evolves into an unflinching documentary immersion into the world of police and security guard violence against people who are poor, homeless, and racialized in Toronto. 'We have to stop calling the police,' says activist Anna Willats. And the message resonates in dozens of stories collected by street pastor Doug Johnson Hatlem. Stunning testimony, images, and commentary are woven together with unique video of police assaults and previously unreleased footage from inside the 2010 G20 detention centre. Conflict erupts over nonviolent responses to overwhelming police impunity. Meanwhile, the increasing militarization of public spaces forces us all to ask: What World Do You Live In?

Dark Days

August 2000 •English

A cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.