Michael Husain and Lisa Hall pose with the newest addition to “The Addict’s Wake” award collection at the Hoosier Film Festival.
Submitted photo
A locally filmed documentary has added yet another trophy to their case of awards.
“The Addict’s Wake” was featured in the Hoosier Films Annual Festival in Bloomington at the Buskirk Chumley Theatre from March 24 to 27.
The documentary took home the award for best film.
Producer Lisa Hall said the win was a “wonderful, wonderful honor.”
Hall is the founder of Glory Girl Productions, the agency producing the film. She began the company in 2019.
The Bloomington festival is a means of elevating Indiana filmmakers, Hall said.
“They’re trying to put Indiana on the map as a place to make films,” she said. “We wanted to support what they’re doing.”
There were a total of 32 films showcased in the festival, all of various lengths and genres.
“It’s impressive, the work that’s being done here,” Hall said.
“The Addict’s Wake” tells the stories of local individuals and families who have battled or are battling substance use disorder.
Hall and her husband moved to Brown County in 2017, the same year there were three lives lost to addiction in the county.
She began working with female inmates at the Brown County Jail, hearing stories of hopes, dreams and families that had been changed because of drug use.
After sharing on Facebook about the struggles the county was facing as people died of overdoses, Hall connected with Amy Pauszek, who became co-producer of the film that would tell the story of substance use disorder in Brown County.
Michael Husain signed on as the director of the film and work began in 2019.
Interviews are not limited to local families of those who have battled or are battling substance use disorder. The film features interviews about the impact substance use disorder has on a person and the community.
Do Something Inc. is a local nonprofit working to help those in addiction recovery. It was also one of several local subjects in “The Addict’s Wake” documentary that premiered last October.
Cory and Michelle Joy helped found Do Something Inc. after they lost their oldest son Caleb to an overdose in 2017.
Caleb’s death started the “Do Something” movement in Brown County with loved ones of those suffering from substance use disorder and those who are in recovery coming together to find support and inspiration.
The film premiered at the 30th Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis on Oct. 11 last year. Awards instantly followed.
There it won the Indiana Spotlight Category and Audience Choice Award.
Then they traveled to Arizona for the 28th Annual Sedona International Film Festival in February, where the film brought home the Indie Spirit Award. That award is given to a film that embodies community impact and the opportunity to foster change, Hall said in March.
After the latest win, Hall said they’re seeking additional funding and heading to conferences this year, one in May and another in June.
They’re waiting on hearing from 10 more festivals that will happen in the late summer or early fall Hall said last week.
“(We have) a lot of irons in the fire,” Hall said.
