Visionary Filmmaker Aaron Strand About the Modern Opioid Epidemic Wins 12 Awards Throughout the US, Screening in Atlanta and Athens
Georgia-raised filmmaker Aaron Strand brought his award-winning feature film “Withdrawal” to Atlanta’s Plaza Theatre and Athens’ Ciné Theater this past February. A 12-time award winner, Strand is coming off a successful U.S. festival run, earning honors for best director, best Georgia feature, best local feature, best actress, best cinematography and best narrative feature at festivals across the country.
Starring Millie Rose Evans as Viv and Brent Michal as Jay, “Withdrawal” follows two artistic lovers trapped in a vicious cycle of codependent heroin addiction. When Viv’s wealthy parents hire an interventionist to send her to rehab, the couple decides to survive one harrowing night of drug withdrawal in the hopes of getting a Suboxone prescription. What follows is a raw and heart-wrenching exploration of love, loss, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive.
Being from Athens himself, “Withdrawal” is an ode to Strand’s past opioid addiction. “In 2013, I crawled back to my hometown of Athens, GA, homeless and shaking from withdrawal, just another statistic of the opioid epidemic. I turned to movies to make sense of what I had experienced,” Strand writes.” This film aims to humanize the opioid crisis and paint an honest portrait of modern addiction filled with heart, hurt, and humor,” he adds.
“Withdrawal” is taking the country by storm with high praise on Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd, with majority 5-star reviews. See what critics are saying:
“‘Withdrawal’ could well be the best film about addiction and getting clean since ‘Requiem for a Dream,’”— Bobby LePire, FilmThreat
“Superbly acted and jarringly raw and realistic to the core, “Withdrawal” offers a harsh look at drug addiction through expert filmmaking.” — Becca Johnson, FilmFocus
“In a world where movies like this would be nominated for Oscars and BAFTAs, Evans and Michal would be taking home all the awards for their acting.” — Permit Chatterjee, Film Fugitives
Strand brings an unflinching yet deeply compassionate lens to the realities of addiction in “Withdrawal.” Through intimate storytelling and grounded performances, the film highlights the human complexity behind substance dependence while offering a portrait of resilience, connection, and the possibility of change. With this film, Strand continues to champion independent filmmaking that sparks meaningful conversations long after the credits roll.
You can learn more about the film at https://www.aaronstrand.net/withdrawalfilm.
ABOUT AARON STRAND
Aaron Strand is a filmmaker, actor, and podcaster. His work has been shown at the Atlanta Film Festival, Austin Film Fest, Kanazawa Film Festival, and many more. He has appeared off-broadway as well as in film and television. In addition to making films, he is the creator of the live film-history podcast, Behind the Slate which hosts film screenings throughout Georgia and has charted in the top-10 film history podcasts in the US. See https://www.aaronstrand.net/ for more details. Strand is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Assets, bio, headshots, movie poster here.