Missoula News

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Overflowing Film Fest Crowd Winces Through Graphic “Montana Meth”

By Tad Sooter, 2-15-07

The film Montana Meth made its world premiere Thursday night at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in front of an audience that overflowed the Wilma Theatre’s main auditorium.

The crowd winced its way through the often-graphic hour-long film that features scenes of real meth addicts smoking and injecting the drug while delving into the painful world of meth addiction. Many in the audience cringed when the film showed a dentist tear a shrunken, rotted tooth from a recovering meth addict’s mouth.

	Click here to listen to the NewWest.Net interview with "Montana Meth" director Eames Yates.

A common response after the screening was that it was “disturbing” but “effective.”

“By highlighting the problems they (the addicts) have had and showing their fidgeting and going to prison, I think it will help kids understand what meth will do to them,” said Loren Ebner, a filmgoer.

In a brief question and answer session after the show, director Eames Yates said he hoped his film would continue the success the Montana Meth Project has had in changing how young people think about the drug.

“What I think this film does is it talks to the people who are thinking about doing meth,” Yates said. “There is no question it makes meth completely un-cool.”

Yates told the crowd that he thought the strength of the film came from showing real people trapped in the meth addiction.

“The reason this film works is that the young people who realized they’ve been in a hell had the courage to come on film and tell their story,” Yates said.

Their stories seemed to hit home with viewers.

“Just seeing the people actually shooting the drug into their veins was disturbing,” said Laura St. Clair as she left the Wilma. “It made me realize how sad those people really are.”

Jess Brewer said she had expected the film to be graphic after hearing the Montana Meth Project’s dramatized “Not even once” meth-awareness ads on radio, but she still found the film moving.

“It was very disturbing how completely it takes over people's lives and the things they are willing to do for it,” she said. “And it only takes a few grams of dope.”

In an interview with New West, Thursday afternoon, Yates said he was encouraged by how aware Montanans are about the dangers of meth.

“The most hopeful thing was that out of everyone I talked to, I never heard anyone say anything good about meth, I mean nothing good at all,” Yates said. “It sounds strange to say 'nothing good' is hopeful, but it is.”

"Montana Meth" is a nominee for the festival’s “Big Sky Award” and can be seen for free on HBO and HBO2 on the weekend of March 16, as part of HBO Documentary Films’ “Addiction” series. The short film "A Revolving Door," also part of the Addiction series, plays at the festival on Monday, February 19.

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