Tipping the Pain Scale, a new award-winning feature documentary film about six dynamic people in the addiction and recovery world who are making a difference, is coming soon to Chicago’s north and south sides. On March 21 and 22, the Health Care Council of Chicago will host a premiere two-night screening event featuring Q&A sessions with Director Jeff Reilly, Producer Greg Williams, and two of the film’s contributors – NFL Pro Bowl Tight End Darren Waller and Spoken Word Artist and Educator Joseph Green.
The North Side screening will be at the Music Box (Lakeview) on Monday, March 21 at 6:30 pm. The South Side screening will be at the DuSable Museum of African American History (Hyde Park) on Tuesday, March 22 at 6:30 pm. Each screening is free to attend with a suggested donation of $10 that will benefit the mvmnt, a new Chicago-based nonprofit empowering and uplifting underserved youth as a means to combat oppression, marginalization, and threats to their safety. Watch the trailer and reserve seats here.
Tipping The Pain Scale follows individuals grappling with the current systemic failures of addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery in the United States and their journey to develop and employ new, innovative, and often controversial solutions to the problem. It is a quasi-anthology, weaving characters through their own stories as they connect to the issues plaguing all communities and the country in an urgent fight to save lives. This positive and uplifting, yet gritty and real, story of redemption and hope is told in cinema verité style.
“The addiction crisis in America and Chicago has reached a new level of devastation in recent years as COVID-19 further isolated individuals suffering with mental health and substance use challenges,” said Meghan Phillipp, Executive Director of HC3. “It is urgent for all health, business, faith, policy, and community stakeholders to come together for important discussions about the cross-sector things we can do to save lives, and this extraordinary film provides us a wonderful platform for that solution-oriented conversation.”
In addition to Darren Waller and Joseph Green, the film also features U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, Washington State Representative Lauren Davis, Community Outreach Volunteer Roz Pichardo, Boston Police Officer Josh De La Rosa, and an original score from Grammy award-winner, Brendan Berry, as well as featuring music from Sia. Learn more about the film at TippingThePainScale.com.
Community partners that have helped make this special two-night event possible include: Cigna, Chicago Recovering Communities Coalition (CRCC), The Darren Waller Foundation, High Watch Media, Medical Home Network, Rosecrance, Sinai Chicago, and Third Horizon Strategies.