Withdrawal

  • Director

    Aaron Strand

  • Country, Year, Length

    United States, 2024, 01:33:25

  • Category

    Narrative Feature

  • Format

    Mini DV, Digital, Super 16mm

  • Festival Year

    2025

Synopsis

A passionate singer-songwriter and her rebellious boyfriend must withdrawal from heroin, to keep her conservative parents from sending her to rehab.

Film Screening & Ticket Information

When & Where to See this Film!

…COMING SOON…

Film Information

From the Director

Director Statement

In 2010, I was on the brink of success, I had starred in an Off-Broadway New York Times Critics Pick, received a degree in drama from NYU Tisch, and was working at the coolest nightclub in New York, The Box. But I had a secret…I was addicted to heroin.

Three years later, homeless and shaking from withdrawal, I crawled back to my hometown of Athens, Georgia as just another statistic of the opioid epidemic.

Getting sober was the hardest thing I’d done. And I turned to movies to make sense of the wreckage. Watching films about addiction gave me hope that I wasn’t alone and reignited an artistic spark that had long since been burned out.

Twelve years later and I am incredibly grateful to have made my first feature film, Withdrawal. Inspired by my lived experience, and made by a diverse group of DIY artists, the film aims to humanize this crisis and to paint an honest portrait of modern addiction filled with heart, hurt, and humor.

Yours in Cinema,
Aaron Strand

Director Biography

Aaron Strand is graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed Off-Broadway in ‘The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller’ (New York Times Critics Pick) and in feature films ‘Irresistible’ (Dir. Jon Stewart) and ‘Richard Jewel’ (Dir. Clint Eastwood). He began directing at the notorious Manhattan nightclub, The Box.

His short films have screened at film festivals across the world and his feature-length scripts have been recognized by Austin Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, and Final Draft’s Big Break. In addition, Aaron hosts ‘Behind The Slate’, a weekly podcast dedicated to all things cinema – which has charted in the top 10 US Film History Podcasts.

Credits

  • Aaron Strand
    Director
    The Name, Trash Boy, Here With Me, 8 Minutes & 46 Seconds
  • Aaron Strand
    Writer
    Conspire, The Name, Trash Boy, Here With Me, 8 Minutes & 46 Seconds
  • Jonathan Walls
    Producer
    Bridge, The Gallery, Best Wishes
  • Shub Agrawal
    Executive Producer
    The Name
  • Christopher Escobar
    Executive Producer
    Color Book, Carterland
  • Rocco Shapiro
    Associate Producer
    F*ck Around and Find Out, I Could Dom
  • Millie Rose Evans
    Key Cast
    “Viv”
    The Despaired, The In Between, The Rejects: Origins
  • Brent Michal
    Key Cast
    “Jay”
    In the Dark, Deke’s Art, Grieving
  • Jeanne Heaton
    Key Cast
    “Edith”
    The Dream Catcher
  • Julian Green
    Key Cast
    “Caleb”
    Manhunt, Will Trent, Queens, Lovecraft Country
  • JR Adduci
    Key Cast
    “Hayes”
    Haunted Mansion, The Slumber Party, The Walking Dead, Stranger Things
  • Sudie Abernathy
    Key Cast
    “Roxie”
  • Robert Maxfield
    Key Cast
    “Stanley”
  • Orelon Sidney
    Key Cast
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Black Lightning, Doom Patrol, The Resident, Will Trent
  • Emily Marquet
    DP
    Snowfall, Wildman, Shanidar
  • Kristina Arjona
    Intimacy Coordinator
    George & Tammy, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Welcome to Flatch, Miller’s Girl
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