Movie Preview Event Shares Realities of Opioid Addiction

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ELMIRA, NY (01/10/2019) The Office of Student Life at Elmira College invites the community to a movie preview and "Meet and Greet" with the cast and writers of "The Sixteen: An Opioid Addiction Story" on Thursday, January 17 at 7:00 p.m. in Gibson Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

"The Sixteen," an independent film project produced by Gee-Bee Productions, tackles the opioid addiction epidemic. "The Sixteen" tells the story of sixteen-year-old Gianna and her friends, a group of high-achieving, healthy, vivacious teenagers who innocently dabble in the use of opioid pills, ultimately leading them to the dark underworld of heroin and fentanyl addiction. Each teen's path leads to devastating consequences in which lives and families are destroyed. The producers' mission is to use the film to raise awareness and help with the prevention of opioid use by featuring an accurate, unvarnished view of this type of addiction.

"Our entire purpose with doing such a raw, intense, real portrayal of this film is so people can see what this type of addiction manifests into, instead of hiding the truth," said Jessica Gerlach-Petrovic, a writer and producer of the film. "We feel if enough people see what can actually happen to them because of opioid, heroin, and fentanyl use, it will help navigate kids away from these gruesome, soul-destroying drugs. We believe in our strategy. Our mission is to save lives…to change lives!"

The Elmira College event includes a screening of "The Sixteen" long trailer, comments from Gee-Bee Productions and cast members, a question and answer session, a performance by hip hop artist J Wills, and audience testimonials followed by a "Meet and Greet" with the cast. In addition, the evening serves as an open casting call for those interested in acting in a full-length version of the film. Those interested should bring a resume and headshot.

Gee-Bee Productions is presenting the event, in collaboration with the Elmira College Office of Student Life and the nonprofit organization, Emerald Care International.