Help us finish filming A Shadow that Broke the Light

We need your support to help finish our film.

Over the past six months, we've been dedicated to filming A Shadow That Broke the Light. We're now in the final stages, gathering additional footage for a documentary that tells the story of the overdose epidemic in Philadelphia—its devastating impact on drug users and the harm reduction workers who are on the front lines. These workers are doing everything they can to reduce harm and save lives in the face of the worst public health crisis our country has ever seen.

As if this work wasn’t already difficult enough, they are also up against a political administration intent on dismantling their services. The current approach seeks to incarcerate drug users or force them into treatment programs that do not exist in the city. This policy is exacerbating harm and suffering in a community that is already fighting for its survival.

We believe A Shadow That Broke the Light plays a crucial role in dismantling the stigma surrounding drug use and drug users. We plan to share the film as widely as possible in the hope that, in some small way, it will offer a more truthful account of the lives we are losing and the people left behind.

Please consider supporting our project in any way you can.

THE ARTISTS

Charlie DelMarcelle

Associate Professor of theatre West Chester University, West Chester, PA

Charlie has been working as a professional actor, director, and theatre educator for over twenty years. He currently resides in Philadelphia where he serves as an educational outreach specialist for the Lantern Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, White Box Theatre, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and is a tenured professor at West Chester University, where he is the Camp Director of Pennsylvania Theatre Institute, a summer performing arts camp.

He is also a respected performer, having appeared at: The Walnut Street Theatre, The Arden Theatre Co., Theater Horizon, Delaware Theatre Co., Inis Nua, The Lantern Theater Co., Act II Playhouse, Azuka Theatre Collective, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, EgoPo Classic Theatre, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Commonwealth Classic Theatre, White Box Theatre, and Amaryllis.

Charlie has held guest artist positions at Albright College, University of Pennsylvania, Millersville University, Moravian College, and Delta State University.

Adam DelMarcelle

Assistant Professor of Art and Design Wilson College Chambersburg, PA

Adam DelMarcelle’s prints, and social art actions have been made in Pennsylvania, on the frontlines of the exploding opioid epidemic and have functioned to educate and mobilize community response through compelling his viewers to ask better questions by asking themselves by considering what part of the landscape of the problem they are responsible for. After losing a brother to an opioid overdose, DelMarcelle committed his life to the betterment of his community through his work as an educator and artist. In 2020 he co-launched Mariah. Mariah is a site-specific, augmented reality application that narrates stories of historical injustice through the backdrop of significant cultural institutions and the funding that has allowed them to exist. DelMarcelle’s work is in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress in Washington DC, Cushing Whitney medical library at Yale University, Syracuse University, Quillen College of Medicine medical Library, The Samek Museum and The Frans Masereel Centrum, as well as several other collections throughout the United States and in Europe. DelMarcelle holds a BFA from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is an Assistant professor in the BA and MFA programs at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He travels and speaks extensively in the US to students about the responsibility they possess to their communities through the work they create.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM

Joe Gietl

Director

Joe is an award-winning producer, writer, and director from Albany, New York. His second movie entitled "A Void" was released in June 2021 and will be making the rounds at film festivals this fall. Joe is a passionate advocate for harm reduction and recently celebrated 11 years of sobriety from an opioid addiction. Through his recovery, he has since been involved with harm reduction work throughout the Capital Region, channeling his experiences into his writing and filmmaking.

Jim Powers

Producer

Jim is an award-winning cinematographer and lifelong filmmaker. He possesses a diverse creative portfolio that has landed him work on blockbuster features as well as network television. Jim’s natural sense of framing paired with his technical expertise defines his signature style.

John Stegemann

Producer

John is an award-winning documentary and commercial producer with over a decade in the industry. His career has taken him all over the world, with projects ranging from narrative feature films to large scale commercial projects and everything in between. With an eye for subtlety and a penchant for the hidden details, John works collaboratively with the director to bring each story to life.

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