News

"Who do we know who can come through for us?" An official trailer has debuted for a funky little indie film titled A Thousand Junkies, set in Los Angeles following a drug junkie looking for his next fix. As much as that sounds like a film no one wants to see, the description is rather intriguing: it's a "'drug' movie with no drugs, and a 'road' movie that goes nowhere." From first-time director Tommy Swerdlow, the film stars Tj Bowen (who co-wrote the script) as Tj, one of the junkies going about his 9 to 5 life of searching for drugs. The cast includes Patricia Castelo Branco, Dinarte de Freitas, and Blake Heron. The Film Stage says the film "is not necessarily a morality tale, nor is it pure voyeurism. It's simply capturing a day in a life — or three, to be more specific." This reminds me a bit of Trainspotting, looks like a good time.

The screenwriter behind such family fare as Cool Runnings, Little Giants, and Snow Dogs, Tommy Swerdlow spent nearly two decades addicted to heroin and methadone, and with any addiction also comes the unceasing search for the next fix. He’s now channeled these experiences for his directorial debut, A Thousand Junkies, and we’re pleased to premiere the trailer today courtesy of The Orchard. Starring alongside co-writer Tj Bowen and the late Blake Heron–both of whom Swerdlow met in AA–one can’t imagine a more authentic rendering of such a life-consuming addiction than what this pitch-black buddy comedy captures.

“The film embodies a statement made by Jerry Stahl, writer of Permanent Midnight: a good friend who is a junkie will do all of your drugs and then spend the day helping you look for them,” John Fink said in our Tribeca Film Festival review. “A Thousand Junkies...