Teaser
- Two brothers travel from the US to South Africa in search of a miraculous cure for the younger brother’s heroin addiction.
Synopsis
- Ibogaine is a psychoactive plant extract used in some African spiritual traditions. It is known for its anti-addictive properties, and is being increasingly used to cure heroin and cocaine addicts of their crippling addiction.
How exactly Ibogaine works remains a mystery, but its secret could be its ability to still cravings, facilitate introspection and help elucidate the psychological issues and behavioral patterns that drive addictions. While Ibogaine is gathering a larger and larger following, and treatment centers are popping up on every continent, it is banned in the United States due to insufficient testing. Ibogaine supporters, however, claim the pharmaceutical industry is responsible for the ban: Methadone manufacturers would rather keep heroin addicts enrolled in never-ending maintenance programs rather than provide them with a lasting cure.
In IBOGAINE - THE WAY OUT?, I follow my younger brother Justin from his home in San Francisco to an Ibogaine treatment facility in Durban, South Africa, where he will undergo a two-day treatment with Ibogaine followed by four weeks of intense therapy. In this follow-up to my last film FORGETTING DAD, in which Justin provides some of the most moving scenes, I will dig deeper into how our father’s sudden case of total amnesia traumatized my then eight-year-old brother and launched him into a vicious spiral of drug addiction and erratic behavior.
With this new film, I will continue along my path of making intensely personal films with a universal appeal which strive to bridge the gap between the personal and the political. As Justin’s older brother, my hope is first and foremost to see my younger brother finally escape from his debilitating heroin addiction. As a filmmaker, I want to investigate the pros and cons of conventional (Methadone) versus alternative (Ibogaine) methods of treating severe drug addictions. Considering the 75% relapse rate for heroin addicts enrolled in conventional care programs such as Methodone maintenance, as cited in a recent New York Times article, Ibogaine is definitely appealing. But can it really live up to its supporters’ claims?
IBOGAINE - THE WAY OUT? is not a propaganda film which blindly attacks the pharmaceutical industry and praises the “wonder drug” Ibogaine. Rather it is an in-depth look at one person’s attempts to find a cure for his heroin addiction both with traditional and alternative methods. My aim is to stimulate public debate about drug treatment methods, and to encourage additional testing of alternative methods such as Ibogaine, which could be a valuable supplement to or replacement of existing treatments. To this end, I will partner with a number of organizations active in drug treatment advocacy to develop an outreach campaign around the film.
While my primary focus is on making a feature documentary (with a one-hour TV version), I intend for the film to function in a multi-platform environment. I am also interested in exploring cross-media possibilities, and am looking for partners well-versed in this market to develop those aspects of the project.
Crew
- Director: Rick Minnich
- Screenplay: Rick Minnich
- Director of photography: Axel Schneppat
