View Full Version : Must SEE TV: The ADDICTION Project - a multi-platform educational campaign


egs
03-13-2007, 06:54 PM
The ADDICTION project is an unprecedented multi-platform campaign aimed at helping Americans understand addiction as a chronic but treatable brain disease. Premiering Thursday, March 15 at 9pm (ET/PT) on HBO with the centerpiece documentary ADDICTION, the project uses all of the network's digital platforms, including the HBO main service, multiplex channels, HBO On Demand, podcasts and web streams.

All films in the 14-part documentary series will initially be offered during a free HBO preview weekend from Thursday, March 15 to Sunday, March 18 in participating cable systems.

The project is produced by HBO in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

Elements include:
The feature-length documentary film ADDICTION is the centerpiece of the project and debuts March 15 on HBO. Bringing together the nation's leading experts with award-winning filmmakers, it consists of nine separate segments, including: "Saturday Night in a Dallas ER," by Jon Alpert; "A Mother's Desperation," by Susan Froemke and Albert Maysles; "The Science of Relapse," by Eugene Jarecki and Susan Froemke; "The Adolescent Addict," by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner; "Brain Imaging," by Liz Garbus and Rory Kennedy; "Opiate Addiction: A New Medication," by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus; "Topiramate: A Clinical Trial for Alcoholism," by Alan and Susan Raymond; "Steamfitters Local Union 638," by Barbara Kopple; and "Insurance Woes," by Susan Froemke. ADDICTION is produced by John Hoffman and Susan Froemke; executive produced by Sheila Nevins.

The supplementary series delves deeper into the various dimensions of addiction. These 13 short films feature: in-depth interviews with the nation's leading experts; innovative family training and treatment approaches; successful drug court programs that reduce relapses and re-arrests; and dealing with the dynamics of a disease that sometimes requires as much investment from family and community as it does from the individual struggling to recover.

Four independent documentaries debuting exclusively on HBO2 vividly capture the personal, family and community struggles caused by addiction. Films include: the 2006 Sundance Film Festival selection TV JUNKIE directed by Michael Cain and Matt Radecki, debuting March 16; CRACKED NOT BROKEN, directed by Paul Perrier, debuting March 17; and MONTANA METH, directed by Eames Yates, and A REVOLVING DOOR, directed by Marilyn Braverman, both debuting March 18.

A comprehensive four-DVD set includes the 14-part film series, including the 90-minute centerpiece documentary and the additional short films, as well as comprehensive consumer resources and contacts. It will be available in stores March 20.

A companion book "Addiction: Why Can't They Just Stop?" is a comprehensive consumer guide to navigating the world of addiction treatment, published by Rodale Press. Edited by John Hoffman and Susan Froemke, the book features a foreword by Sheila Nevins and an afterword by Susan Cheever. It will be available in stores March 6.

A major 30-city nationwide community outreach campaign, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and coordinated by Join Together, Faces and Voices of Recovery, and Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), will create town hall meetings, house parties, briefings and other community-wide events in cities across the country. An interactive Addiction: Communities Take Action website will arm communities with tools, including a viewer's guide, to support their efforts.

The Addiction Project is produced by HBO in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

Understanding Addiction
Addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease. Brain imaging shows that addiction severely alters brain areas critical to decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control, which may help to explain the compulsive and destructive behaviors of addiction.

Adolescent Addiction
Drug abuse starts early and peaks during the teen years. This increased risk is partly due to adolescents' heightened sensitivity to social influences (friends) and their still developing brain, particularly areas critical to judgment and impulse control.

Treatment
Scientific studies demonstrate that the right mix of behavioral therapy, medication (when available) and personal support can help addicted people navigate the road to recovery. Learn how to pick an appropriate treatment approach.

Aftercare
Addiction treatment is just the beginning. Long-term recovery requires a lifetime commitment to healthy decisions and actions. While relapse is common, families can prepare for it. Learn techniques to enhance the odds of long-term recovery.

Stigma & Discrimination
The stigma associated with addiction is one of the greatest challenges to recovery. Each year only 10 percent of Americans who need alcohol and drug treatment get the help they need. Yet with treatment and support, people with addiction can lead productive lives.

The Film
Through the lenses of several highly accomplished documentary filmmakers, the current state of addiction in America is explored in nine segments, punctuated by the latest thinking on treatment and recovery by leading experts on drug and alcohol addiction.

Go to www.hbo.com for more info.

Suthrndreamgirl
04-19-2007, 10:41 PM
I've seen parts of this...very informative.

chrus2417
05-02-2007, 01:15 PM
What do you think of the show Intervention on A&E?

DaveMoff
06-12-2007, 12:11 AM
I find "Intervention" disgusting. A deeply personal and intense crisis situation is played out for TV cameras. I often wonder how many of the "interventions" result from genuine need and how many are scripted in advance so as to play well on TV.

I am somewhat skeptical of "interventions" in general, believing that someone with an addiction will do something about it when he or she is ready to, not when his or her family decides to get confrontational (that doesn't mean a family or significant other should tolerate an addict if they can't stand it any more--I just don't believe emotional blackmail is the answer).

There are some places in this world where TV cameras simply do not belong. And when someone is facing a major personal crisis and possibly the decision of a lifetime--that's definitely one. A weekly series which followed patients as they received word of a cancer diagnosis and wrestled with treatment options or life decisions would rightly be called tasteless. When the diagnosis is often imposed by non-professionals and treatment can be forced under the color of law, tasteless doesn't even begin to cover it.