Viewers tuning into their local PBS station will soon see some familiar faces and stories on the screen.

“The Addicts Wake,” a locally produced documentary film, has been accepted for broadcast on public-television member stations nationwide in 2023.

The three-year deal will make the film available for broadcast on any of the 341 public-television member stations across the country, with a capacity to reach 100 million households.

The film will be adapted from the original feature-length film, which debuted at the Heartland Film Festival in 2021 and has become an award-winning documentary at various film festivals in the United States. In recent months, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield has sponsored community screenings of the film in multiple counties throughout Indiana.

The film was produced by Glory Girl Productions based in Brown County and directed by Emmy Award winner and Indianapolis resident Michael Husain.

Interviews are not limited to local families of those who have battled or are battling substance use disorder. A professor at Butler University shares what happens with brain architecture when someone is using narcotics. Former Brown County Sheriff Scott Southerland and former Brown County Schools Superintendent Laura Hammack also speak to substance use disorder in the community and its effects.

The story of a local man battling substance use disorder is followed for two and a half years, with interviews taking place at Marion and Jackson County jails.

“This film is having a real effect as it has gained traction across film festivals and community events,” Lisa Hall said. Hall is the president of Glory Girl Productions.

“It was developed to be a clarion call for communities to come together and address the devastating impact of substance use disorder that is plaguing every county across the country.”

The Herschel B. and Ethel L. Whitney Endowment Fund, along with combined matching funds from Anthem and the State of Indiana, has also underwritten a 45-minute adaptation of the original film to be shown in Indiana classrooms beginning in 2023.

Offering hope

Hall announced the public-television opportunity during a community screening of the feature-length film at the Brown County Playhouse on Jan. 19.

The public-television adaptation of the film will be modestly shorter than the original feature-length film, according to a press release from Glory Girl Productions, but will maintain the same impactful content.

The television adaptation is being underwritten, in part, by the Brown County Community Foundation. Karen Everett of New Doc Editing in California will edit the television version of the film, and Nimmi Singh of Portland, Oregon will help to market the film to public-television members stations across the country.

Hall anticipates the public-television adaptation will debut in August through September, in time for National Overdose Month and National Recovery Month, respectively.

Hall has been working with a distribution advisor and attends a monthly group, Show and Tell Circle, with other filmmakers.

The advisor suggested applying for a PBS broadcast.

“I was so daunted by that,” Hall said.

Though daunted, they applied, and found out in November the film was accepted for public-television broadcast.

Requests are still being made for screenings of “The Addict’s Wake.” The film will be shown twice in February and twice in March. More details on those showings will be available in the future.

The educational edit of the film is now in post-production and Hall said they are working with the Indiana Department of Education and counties where the film has shown in its distribution.

Towards the end of the year, a version will be edited for law enforcement, specifically for first responders and law enforcement officers to bolster understanding of medically assisting those with substance use disorder.

“(It will show) how we can’t afford to get jaded when you see someone (in addiction) repeatedly coming back,” Hall said.

“We have to offer hope … We can’t give up on people.”

With new opportunities come new expenses, Hall said; the production company is now looking to fill sponsor slots for the PBS broadcast.

There are 60 seconds of sponsor slots available, and Hall said that she has commitments already made by sponsors for 45 of those seconds.

Hall’s dream for the film is that it be able to get out of Indiana and gain a national presence, especially the educational release.

PBS will help that dream, she said.

“It’s going to be exciting to share with the county how important the county stories have become,” Hall said.

“I’m just so grateful for folks who have lent their stories to us. “

See a preview

To watch the trailer for “The Addict’s Wake,” visit https://vimeo.com/379296258.