The Anonymous People is a feature documentary film about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction. Deeply entrenched social stigma and mass participation in widely successful anonymous 12-step groups have kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. The vacuum created by this silence has been filled by sensational mass media depictions of addiction that continue to perpetuate a lurid public fascination with the dysfunctional side of what is a preventable and treatable health condition.
Just like women with breast cancer, or people with HIV/AIDS, courageous addiction recovery advocates are starting to come out of the shadows to tell their true stories. The moving story of The Anonymous People is told through the faces and voices of the leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, and celebrities who are laying it all on the line to save the lives of others just like them. This passionate new public recovery movement is fueling a changing conversation that aims to transform public opinion, and finally shift problematic policy toward lasting recovery solutions.
The film is 84 minute (or 53 minute for educational settings) and urges greater public awareness of the fact that 23.5 million Americans live in long term recovery from addiction. It gives new perspectives about:
- The Use of Language
- Stigma, History, Politics
- Personal Choice
- Empowerment
- Innovation and Hope
We learn not to focus on the dark side of addiction. The film shows the need to step forward and demonstrate wellness and recovery.
It is available on DVD or can be streamed from Netflix. Purchase The Anonymous People here.
