Louis Theroux’s powerful new documentary HEROIN TOWN is set to premiere in Australian Cinemas in limited release from November 17.
In Huntington, West Virginia, Theroux, with his trademark warmth, empathy and candour, embeds himself among frontline emergency workers and a community ravaged by addiction. Such is the heroin crisis in the city, one in 10 babies are born addicted to opiates and it has a fatal overdose rate 13 times the national average. Screenings of Heroin Town will also include exclusive filmed content with Theroux. Louis reflects on his attraction to the bizarre, gives insights into his documentary making process, reveals behind the scenes stories from his previous documentaries – including the truth about his feature-length “My Scientology Movie”, and explains why he has returned to the US for his latest documentary series.
Theroux explained that America’s love affair with prescription painkillers has led to a widespread dependency on opiates. But a crackdown on over-prescription means the pills are becoming increasingly expensive and scarce on the black market and vast numbers of Americans have turned to a cheaper, stronger alternative: heroin. The drug now claims more lives in the US than car accidents or gun crime, according to US Government data. For the first time in two decades, life expectancy in the US is declining – a drop in which the rise in fatal heroin overdoses is a significant factor.
“I had initially resisted doing the opiates epidemic because I felt I had already done a couple of stories about addiction. But I changed my mind after I read about the scale of the problem and realised we might be able to immerse ourselves more deeply in the world of the users than I’d ever done before. Heroin Town is about the destruction of a community by over-prescription and Big Pharma. It also, like so many stories on highly dysfunctional behaviour, ends up being a meditation on family and love; the possibility of change and the limits of our control over those we are close to.” Theroux commented “I can’t wait for Australian audiences to experience Heroin Town on the big screen.”
Information on participating cinemas and purchasing tickets for Heroin Town
A new season of Louis Theroux documentaries will screen on BBC Knowledge from November 21st.