Event

"The Anonymous People"

An award-winning new film about America's addiction epidemic will premiere tonight in New York, exploring the rise of a controversial new movement following in the footsteps of the HIV/AIDS and breast cancer survivor movements. "The Anonymous People," by filmmaker Greg Williams, takes an unparalleled look at the public health crisis of addiction to alcohol and other drugs and the meteoric rise of the New Addiction Recovery Advocacy Movement. The film's premiere at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts will be followed by a panel discussion with Williams, Emmy-award winning actress Kristen Johnston, television journalist Laurie Dhue, and grassroots community activists who appear in the documentary.

"This is not your tired old addiction rehab story splashed across reality TV or tabloid magazines," said Williams. "There are no needles hanging out of people's arms, pictures of the brain, or fried eggs in a pan." As a person in long-term recovery himself since age 17, Williams (now 29) adds, "We set out to find the answer to one very fundamental question: Why do we treat addiction and people with addiction in this country so dramatically differently than people with any other health issue?"

"The Anonymous People" explores how deeply entrenched social stigma and discrimination, combined with cursory acceptance of anonymous 12-step group dogma have kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. Just like women with breast cancer, or people with HIV/AIDS, courageous addiction recovery advocates are coming out of the shadows to share the truth and reality of recovery. The moving story of "The Anonymous People" is told through the faces and voices of the leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, and celebrities who are putting themselves on the line to save the lives of others just like them.