Film series: Recovery in Community
"Recovery in Community" — a three-part film series sponsored by Student Disability Services — reflects collaboration among Cornell Health, Cornell Cinema, Dr. Julie Carmalt's “Addiction Medicine Practice & Policy” (PUBPOL 3720) course, and a few incredible Cornell students in recovery.
Members of Cornell Health's Discover Recovery group—offered through CAPS for students in abstinence-based recovery—served as the project’s expert advisory panel. Students in the Addiction Medicine course learned directly from peers with lived experience, deepening their understanding of what matters most when portraying substance use disorders and recovery with accuracy, dignity, and care. Their insights shaped the project’s foundational values: honoring multiple pathways to recovery, resisting stereotypes, avoiding glamorization, providing appropriate content advisories, and centering the humanity and full complexity of people who use alcohol and other drugs.
Over the course of the semester, student teams engaged in an intensive research and design process, tasked with proposing a curated film series for Cornell Cinema. Guided by Molly Ryan, Director of Cornell Cinema, Jake Parker Carver LCSW, Cornell Health therapist and AOD Services Coordinator, and expert advisors from Discover Recovery, students explored films across genres and eras, evaluated how each aligned with recovery-oriented principles, and developed written film-series “pitch” proposals explaining the series themes, film rationales, makers’ intentions, and connections to audience needs. Students also created an engagement & outreach plan that identified campus and community partners who might introduce films, participate in panel discussions, or help broaden the series’ impact.
The project culminated in the production of original “Recovery Reels”, short, peer-to-peer video pieces designed for pre-show screening and potential use in anti-stigma efforts across campus. These reels highlight the diversity of recovery experiences and demonstrate student learning about non-stigmatizing language, peer voice, and the importance of supportive environments. Together, the pitches, outreach plans, and Recovery Reels formed the backbone of this spring’s “Recovery in Community” film series: a collaborative, student-informed, community-rooted approach to celebrating recovery as multifaceted, person-defined, and deeply connected to belonging.
"Recovery in Community" features three films and will culminate in a special book talk with Keri Blakinger, journalist and author of Corrections in Ink, on Wednesday, April 22.
All events are free and open to the public. Free popcorn will be provided for all attendees!
Featuring:
The Outrun
(2024, dir. Nora Fingscheidt)
Thursday, February 12, 6 p.m.
Crazywater
(2013, dir. Dennis Allen)
Thursday, March 12, 6 p.m.
Generation Found
(2016, dir. Greg D. Williams and Jeff Reilly)
Thursday, April 16, 6 p.m.
Book Talk: Corrections in Ink with Keri Blakinger
Wednesday, April 22, TBC, BioTech G10
Event link forthcoming
Sponsored by Student Disability Services at Cornell Health.
Special thanks to Jake Parker Carver, Julie Carmalt, Beth Parrot, Jennifer Austin, Victor Wu, the students of PUBPOL 3720, and Discover Recovery.
Content Advisory: The films contains depictions of substance use, substance use disorder, violence, profanity, assault, attempted sexual assault, and sexual violence that may be disturbing for some viewers.
