Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications will facilitate a free public screening of the Netflix documentary “Heroin(e)” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Marquee Cinemas at Pullman Square. To reserve a seat, visit http://bit.ly/heroinescreening.
The showing will be followed by a discussion with those featured in the film as well as with Elaine Sheldon, director and producer of the film, and Kerrin Sheldon, co-producer/director of photography. The event will be free and open to the public.
Elaine McMillion Sheldon is a documentary filmmaker based in West Virginia. In 2013, she released “Hollow,” an interactive documentary that examines the future of rural America through the eyes and voices of West Virginians. “Hollow” received Peabody and Emmy award nominations and third prize in the World Press Photo Multimedia Awards. Sheldon was a 2013 Future of Storytelling Fellow, and named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine and one of “50 People Changing The South” by Southern Living Magazine.
Released to 190 countries on September 12, “Heroin(e)” documents three women in Huntington, West Virginia, as they fight the opioid epidemic in a city with an overdose rate 10 times the national average. Fire Chief Jan Rader spends the majority of her days reviving those who have overdosed; Judge Patricia Keller presides over drug court, handing down empathy along with orders; and Necia Freeman of Brown Bag Ministry feeds meals to the women selling their bodies for drugs. As America’s opioid crisis threatens to tear communities apart, the Netflix Original Short Documentary Heroin(e) shows how the chain of compassion holds one town together.
“Heroin(e),” directed by Peabody award-winning filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon, launched Sept. 12 as a Netflix original documentary short. The film was produced in partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting through the Glassbreaker Films initiative to support female filmmakers, made possible with support from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. The film premiered at the 2017 Telluride Film Festival and has been shortlisted for a Cinema Eye Award.
Seating for the event is limited. Marshall’s Wellness Center is among the sponsors of the showing. For more information, contact Tijah Bumgarner by e-mail at bumgarnert@marshall.edu.