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SLAMDANCE ANNOUNCED
INHERITANCE
WINNER OF THE
GRAND JURY AWARD for DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
AT THEIR 30TH ANNUAL EDITION
Filmed over 11 years, INHERITANCE follows Curtis, a young boy, as he grows up in rural Appalachia in a family and community surrounded by drug abuse and poverty.
Can Curtis break the cycle of addiction that has plagued his family for generations?
PARK CITY, UT (JANUARY 26, 2024) – INHERITANCE was announced as the winner of the SLAMDANCE Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature last night at the film festival's 30th annual film festival. INHERITANCE, explores the underlying causes of the opioid epidemic in America through the life of one boy and five generations of his extended family over 11 years. Curtis, a bright and hopeful boy, grows up from age 12 to 18 surrounded by love and struggle while every adult in his family – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins -- battles addiction.
The husband and wife filmmaking team behind INHERITANCE, producers and directors Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing, are filmmakers, acclaimed photojournalists and National Geographic Explorers. For over 30 years their works have been featured by top outlets including National Geographic magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and PBS. INHERITANCE is their feature documentary directorial debut. The film had its World Premiere at SLAMDANCE film festival in Park City on January 19, 2024.
Can Curtis break the cycle of addiction that has plagued his family for generations?
PARK CITY, UT (JANUARY 26, 2024) – INHERITANCE was announced as the winner of the SLAMDANCE Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature last night at the film festival's 30th annual film festival. INHERITANCE, explores the underlying causes of the opioid epidemic in America through the life of one boy and five generations of his extended family over 11 years. Curtis, a bright and hopeful boy, grows up from age 12 to 18 surrounded by love and struggle while every adult in his family – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins -- battles addiction.
The husband and wife filmmaking team behind INHERITANCE, producers and directors Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing, are filmmakers, acclaimed photojournalists and National Geographic Explorers. For over 30 years their works have been featured by top outlets including National Geographic magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and PBS. INHERITANCE is their feature documentary directorial debut. The film had its World Premiere at SLAMDANCE film festival in Park City on January 19, 2024.
INHERITANCE director/producer Matt Moyer accepted the SLAMDANCE Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature on behalf of himself and director/producer Amy Toensing at last night's awards in Park City, UT.
INHERITANCE director/producer, winner of the SLAMDANCE Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature and SLAMDANCE co-founder Peter Baxter at last night's awards show in Park City, UT.
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(LtoR) INHERITANCE director/producer Matt Moyer and executive producer David A. Liu celebrate winning the SLAMDANCE Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature at last night's awards in Park City, UT.
SLAMDANCE 2024 Awards Winners Group Photo
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Awards photos by: David Roberson
Courtesy of: Roberson Public Relations
INHERITANCE had its World Premiere Friday, January 19at The Yarrow - Lumix Theater in Park City, Utah, followed by a Q&A with the directors. Directors/Producers Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing, Associate Producer Kayla Breen, Editor Curtis Whitear, Executive Producer Erik Heyer, and Executive Producer Dave A. Liu attended the World Premiere screening.
INHERITANCE was produced by Moyer and Toensing under MILLROCK PRODUCTIONS, executive producers Morgan Pehme and Daniel DiMauro under CALLIOPE PICTURES known for Award-winning films (Netflix’s Get Me Roger Stone, HBO’s The Swamp), in association with executive producer Dave A. Liu under LIUCRATIVE MEDIA, and with executive producer Sam Cullman, an Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker (If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front and Art and Craft). Kayla Breen is the associate producer. INHERITANCE was edited by Curtis Whitear.
Courtesy of: Roberson Public Relations
INHERITANCE had its World Premiere Friday, January 19at The Yarrow - Lumix Theater in Park City, Utah, followed by a Q&A with the directors. Directors/Producers Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing, Associate Producer Kayla Breen, Editor Curtis Whitear, Executive Producer Erik Heyer, and Executive Producer Dave A. Liu attended the World Premiere screening.
INHERITANCE was produced by Moyer and Toensing under MILLROCK PRODUCTIONS, executive producers Morgan Pehme and Daniel DiMauro under CALLIOPE PICTURES known for Award-winning films (Netflix’s Get Me Roger Stone, HBO’s The Swamp), in association with executive producer Dave A. Liu under LIUCRATIVE MEDIA, and with executive producer Sam Cullman, an Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker (If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front and Art and Craft). Kayla Breen is the associate producer. INHERITANCE was edited by Curtis Whitear.
DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT
The film began in 2012 without us knowing it. Matt took time away from his successful career in photojournalism to study filmmaking as a Knight Fellow at Ohio University. While filming food distribution at a church, he was approached by J.P. – a key character in INHERITANCE – eager to tell his story. After listening to J.P. talk about his heroin addiction, trauma, prison, and a search for redemption, Matt made a short film telling his story. Amy was the second camera on the project.
We found ourselves on the frontlines of the opioid crisis in America.
As we spent time with J.P., his family, and his community, we realized the issue was far more complex than the devastation wrought by one drug. Here was a troubled America, one where communities that bore the brunt of economic decline now faced inherited poverty, joblessness, abuse, addiction, and hopelessness. At the core, it seemed, was a cycle of intergenerational trauma and mental health problems underlying America’s substance abuse crisis.
In 2016, we met J.P.’s 12-year-old cousin Curtis – bright, captivating, and hopeful in a family where every adult battled addiction. His six-year journey to adulthood became ours as filmmakers, to let viewers ask themselves: What if I were Curtis? Could I forge a path different from my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, – and cousins like J.P.? Is it realistic, let alone fair, to expect a kid like Curtis to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps?”
We kept our focus on Curtis’ story, with a belief that audiences would view him as representative of millions of kids in America. We interviewed a local police officer who has known his family for 30 years and he estimated that Curtis’s situation represents up to 30% of all kids in the region. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that about one out of every eight kids in America grows up in homes with a substance use problem. INHERITANCE does not suggest policy changes but we passionately believe that empathy and understanding are the first spark toward change.
The deeper we delved into this story, the more we began to look at the impact substance abuse has had on our own family histories. Although Curtis has faced many more difficult struggles than we ever did, we felt a deepening connection with him and his family, and a belief that audiences could be led to feel the same connection, empathy, and hope toward Curtis.
The film began in 2012 without us knowing it. Matt took time away from his successful career in photojournalism to study filmmaking as a Knight Fellow at Ohio University. While filming food distribution at a church, he was approached by J.P. – a key character in INHERITANCE – eager to tell his story. After listening to J.P. talk about his heroin addiction, trauma, prison, and a search for redemption, Matt made a short film telling his story. Amy was the second camera on the project.
We found ourselves on the frontlines of the opioid crisis in America.
As we spent time with J.P., his family, and his community, we realized the issue was far more complex than the devastation wrought by one drug. Here was a troubled America, one where communities that bore the brunt of economic decline now faced inherited poverty, joblessness, abuse, addiction, and hopelessness. At the core, it seemed, was a cycle of intergenerational trauma and mental health problems underlying America’s substance abuse crisis.
In 2016, we met J.P.’s 12-year-old cousin Curtis – bright, captivating, and hopeful in a family where every adult battled addiction. His six-year journey to adulthood became ours as filmmakers, to let viewers ask themselves: What if I were Curtis? Could I forge a path different from my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, – and cousins like J.P.? Is it realistic, let alone fair, to expect a kid like Curtis to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps?”
We kept our focus on Curtis’ story, with a belief that audiences would view him as representative of millions of kids in America. We interviewed a local police officer who has known his family for 30 years and he estimated that Curtis’s situation represents up to 30% of all kids in the region. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that about one out of every eight kids in America grows up in homes with a substance use problem. INHERITANCE does not suggest policy changes but we passionately believe that empathy and understanding are the first spark toward change.
The deeper we delved into this story, the more we began to look at the impact substance abuse has had on our own family histories. Although Curtis has faced many more difficult struggles than we ever did, we felt a deepening connection with him and his family, and a belief that audiences could be led to feel the same connection, empathy, and hope toward Curtis.
