TRAILER
SYNOPSIS
In the heart of America's opioid epidemic, four men attempt to reinvent their lives and mend broken relationships after years of drug abuse. Recovery Boys, from Academy Award-nominated director Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Heroin(e)), is an intimate look at the strength, brotherhood, and courage that it takes to overcome addiction and lays bare the internal conflict of recovery. In an effort to break the cycle of generational addiction and trauma, the young men let go of painful pasts as they live in the present, and build a new community in a farming-based rehab. After rehab, they experience life's trials and tribulations sober, but struggle to find their place and purpose in an often unforgiving society. In today’s world, where shocking statistics about the opioid crisis make headlines daily, Recovery Boys gives a deeply personal look into the unseen lives of those working toward transformation.
Strikingly real, unyielding in its focus, honest to a fault, and offers outcomes that are never on solid ground…it’s a work of uncompromising art. It’s close to a masterpiece.”
REVIEWS:
“A Director Looks for Beauty in Her Home’s Opioid Struggle” The New York Times
“Sensitive and life-affirming” LA Times
“Intimate, poignant, and raw, establishing Sheldon as one of the most vital documentary filmmakers at the moment” The Gate
“Unearths moments of raw revelation…a moving yet cautionary tale.” The New York Times
“Exploration of male emotions refreshing to anyone who has grown accustomed to staid representations within popular culture.” The Guardian
“It’s impossible to not cheer for them while watching the film.” Bustle
“Forget our society’s current obsession with superheroes: this is the conflict of which powerful drama is made.” Film Festival Today
“Essential viewing for all young men” JOE
“A sober and unflinching glimpse into the heart of America’s opioid epidemic” Ready Steady Cut
“The immediate social impression of Recovery Boys is tremendous.” Daily Dot
“There’s a tendency in politics to turn real misery into platitudes and abstractions; Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s documentary is the antidote.” New York Magazine