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SLFS Interview: Ashley Seering – Co-Director of THE HEROIN PROJECT – We Are Movie Geeks

Interview

SLFS Interview: Ashley Seering – Co-Director of THE HEROIN PROJECT

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THE HEROIN PROJECT screens Wednesday, July 22 at 5:00pm at the Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63130) as part of this year’s St. Louis Filmmaker’s Showcase. Also on the program are the shorts PEDALING TO STOP PUSHING and INNER DEMONS. Ticket information can be found HERE

THE HEROIN PROJECT raises awareness about the devastating impact of heroin. Although focused on events in Madison County, Ill., the film documents a widespread but under-discussed problem that affects not just the St. Louis metro area but the entire country. Beyond the monetary cost of increased law-enforcement efforts and goods stolen from businesses, the negative effects of heroin are more accurately measured in the ever-growing number of young lives lost. Ashley Seering, co-director of THE HEROIN PROJECT along with Cory Byers, took the time to answer some questions about her film.

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Ashley Seering with Cory Byers, co-directors of THE HEROIN PROJECT

Interview conducted by Tom Stockman

We Are Movie Geeks: What inspired you to make a documentary about the heroin epidemic? Did you have a family member or friend that had been hooked on the drug?

Ashley Seering: When I was a student at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Mass Communications department was working with the Madison County State’s Attorney and some other local officials on a series of short videos about the drug problem. Since I was a student in the Mass Comm department, I was offered the chance to work as a PA on these shoots. That’s when I was first made aware of the problem. Fast forward to my senior year and the State’s Attorney approached the department about recording their Madison County Heroin Task Force meetings. I started doing that and it made me realize again just how big the issue is and how many people are involved in trying to reverse it. Since documentaries are what I love to do, it made me think that this issue deserved more attention than just a 5-10 minute video, so the idea for a longer documentary was born. I approached the co-director Cory about it, who I have worked with on many other projects, and we started organizing interviews and writing recreation scripts from there.

WAMG: Heroin has been around for a long time but your documentary claims that overdoses are on the rise. Why do you think this is? Is heroin stronger than it has been in the past?

AS: We heard many different reasons for this during the production of the film. Since From what I’ve heard, drug issues tend to come in cycles. Heroin will be popular for a while and then meth or cocaine and it tends to kind of rotate. Another point to mention is that prescription drugs often lead to heroin use because they are both opiates, so people who become addicted to prescription drugs turn to heroin when their prescription runs out because heroin is obtainable and often times cheaper than buying pills on the street.

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WAMG: You interviewed Melisa’s mother at length, but not Melissa herself. Did you attempt to reach out to her?

AS: We did reach out to Melissa but our schedules never worked out for an interview. Also, since Melissa’s mom played a very active role in trying to get her help, we thought Jennifer’s story was very interesting and that seeing the whole ordeal from her perspective might make our film a little different from others I’ve seen about addiction. There were many paths we could have gone as far as storytelling with this film and we decided to focus on parents as our target audience.

WAMG: Were there people you wanted to interview for your film who did not want to cooperate?

AS: Everyone who we reached out to was more than willing to share their story or expertise about the heroin problem. We were fortunate that everyone was so willing to talk. The interviews, especially with the families, were not easy and we really appreciated their bravery as far as sharing very personal details about their experiences. They want to lessen the stigma that is often associated with heroin addicts and talking about the problem openly is a good way to do that. We tried to keep the interview set ups as small as possible, usually just Cory and myself working as crew, so that they would feel comfortable.

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WAMG: Where did you find the subjects for this doc?

AS: Pretty much all of the interview subjects were people who were recommended to us by either the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office or Troy Police Officer Chris Coyne. They are all very involved and a part of the heroin task force so they had a lot of very useful connections. We couldn’t have completed the film without them.

WAMG: Have the interview subjects seen the final film, and if so, what do they think of it?

AS: We have had a few screenings locally in Illinois and the reaction has been very positive. We had about 10 hours of interview footage to cut down and I made it a priority that the integrity of the stories remain intact. The interview subjects have given us a ton of support and even given us ideas of how to get the film shown to a bigger audience and in schools. It was definitely a relief after they saw it for the first time and they told Cory and I how much they liked the finished product.

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WAMG: Who would you like to see THE HEROIN PROJECT?

AS: As many people as possible. One of the keys to reversing the problem is awareness and knowledge and we hope the film will help with both of those.

WAMG: How has the film been received so far?

AS: As I mentioned earlier, we’ve had a few screenings in Illinois in Madison and St. Clair County. The response has been great and we’ve gotten a lot of great suggestions from people about where it might be most useful. We’re very pleased that people see it has something that could be a useful learning tool.

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WAMG: This was your first documentary feature. What were some of the unexpected challenges in getting this film made?

AS: The list of challenges is very long but I think Cory and I both learned something from each of them. Working with a very small crew, mostly just the two of us, had its own challenges. The film was funded by an IndieGoGo campaign but everyone worked on it as a volunteer and fortunately we were able to come up with the funds for original music, graphics, poster design, etc. Editing was the most challenging part for me. I read a quote once that was something like “editing a documentary is like being handed a bag of sentences and having to write a book.” That really proved to be true. I spent a few months just chipping away at it each day and then Cory came in and watched it and gave suggestions and another perspective. It was my most challenging project to date as a filmmaker but it has also been the most rewarding.

WAMG: Do you have some favorite documentary filmmakers?

AS: Steve James and Werner Herzog are two that come to mind. I watch a big variety of documentaries by a lot of different directors. I’ve seen too many that I like to name them all.

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WAMG: Tell me about your next project(s).

AS: Documentaries are my passion and I spend a lot of time working on short docs. I do a lot of different kinds of work through my company though, so I’ve usually got many different things on my plate. We’ve been contacted about doing some follow ups to The Heroin Project, so we are considering that. Otherwise, I am always keeping an eye out for story ideas that might turn into my next documentary project.