"A clarion call for our nation to better address our communities' unmet needs in behavioral health and beyond."

Amanda Pears Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Clinicians for the Underserved

Inheritance

Produced & Directed by

Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing

83 min | English SDH Captions | Scene Selection

Now available from Bullfrog Films, Inheritance explores the underlying causes of the opioid epidemic in America through the life of one boy and five generations of his extended family over 11 years.

Curtis, a bright and hopeful 12 year-old, grows up surrounded by love and struggle while every adult in his family – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins – battle addiction. Curtis’s America is a country where people and communities are struggling with an epidemic of substance use disorder, joblessness, poverty, and a deteriorating sense of belonging.

Within this very personal story is an illuminating example of the cycle of intergenerational trauma and mental health problems that underlies America’s substance use disorder crisis. Can Curtis break the cycle of addiction that has plagued his family for generations?

Inheritance is now available on DVD and for digital site licensing (DSL) with public performance rights from Bullfrog Films. The film can be licensed for academic streaming from 1stLook.net, powered by Docuseek. Campus and community groups interested in hosting an in-person or online community screening can book the film now through Bullfrog Communities.

WATCH THE TRAILER

REVIEWS

"Inheritance deftly navigates the complexity of poverty and addiction: families that are a source of hope and a source of trauma; communities that are devastated from economic disinvestment and environmental injustices yet strive for resilience; people who seek fuller lives but are held back by structural disadvantages. This film presents one family in the 3-dimensional humanity they deserve, escaping the simple tropes that are so prevalent in reporting about the overdose crisis. It’s a must-watch for those who wish to understand the roots of the overdose crisis and to see why our continual reliance on the criminal legal and child welfare systems will not reverse the harms it’s incurred."

Kristina Brant, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology at Pennsylvania State University

"Inheritance is a gut-wrenching portrayal of the brutal reality of life for many in Appalachia, a people and place that is often overlooked and stigmatized. The film shines an uncomfortable light on the cultural, economic, and social forces that contribute to our national diseases of despair which have become a generational epidemic. Having served as an addiction physician on the front lines of this epidemic for the past two decades, the families portrayed represent a cross-section of our communities that some will find easy to judge. My hope is that viewers will see the shared humanity in these families, see common desires and struggles, and possibly consider how the lives of these folk prophetically mirror a larger sickness in our country."

James Berry, Professor of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry,

Director of Addictions, West Virginia University

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Bullfrog Films is the oldest and largest publisher of documentary films about the environment in the United States. We define "environment" broadly, and our catalog includes programs on ecology, energy, agriculture, indigenous peoples, women's studies, environmental justice, international relations, sustainable development, anthropology, economics, ethics, and conflict resolution.