Oxyana

World Documentary Competition

World Premiere

USA | 81 MINUTES | English |

OXYANA

Documentary
Struggling with poverty and unemployment after the demise of its only industry—the mining trade that had historically nourished the local economy—Oceana, West Virginia, has become the epicenter of a drug scourge devastating towns across the country and leaving many good and honest communities forsaken. Known among its residents as “Oxyana” after the OxyContin epidemic quietly washing over this sleepy Appalachian town, Oceana is a tragically real example of the insidious spread of drug dependency in the U.S. today.

Set against the eerie backdrop of abandoned coal mines within the lush West Virginia landscape, to the melody of Deer Tick’s haunting score, Sean Dunne’s unflinchingly intimate documentary probes the lives of Oceana’s afflicted. He turns the camera on its many residents, allowing them to tell their stories in their own words and homes and illuminate how their unique stories have led them each to the same tragic inevitability of pill addiction. Dunne eschews the high-drama mode in which drug dependency stories are often framed in favor of a simple, sympathetic immersion in the day-to-day experience of a town living in the harsh grip of addiction.

—Cara Cusumano

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Sean Dunne

SEAN DUNNE was born in Peekskill, New York, in 1981 and attended SUNY Purchase. In 2008, his short documentary The Archive was nominated for an Emmy, and after four additional shorts, he has been hailed by Short of the Week as the “master of fringe Americana.” Oxyana is his feature debut.
Director
Sean Dunne
Producer
Nadine Brown, Cass Greener
Editor
Kathy Gatto
Cinematographer
Hillary Spera
Executive Producer
Colby Glenn
Composer
Jonny Fritz, John McCauley
Co-Producer
Kathy Gatto
Sound Editor
Frank Turbe
Additional Photography
Jeff Powers
Co-Executive Producer
Norma Grissom, Gerard Falcone, Sarah Falcone, Patrick Daly

CONTACTS

Press Contact
Amy Grey
Dish Communications
Toluca Lake, CA 91610
Phone: 818-508-1000
amyg@dishcommunications.com
International Sales Contact
Colby Glenn
Cadillac Hash, LLC
White Plains, 10605
Phone: 914 261 2561
oxyanafilm@gmail.com
Press Contact
Ashley Mariner
Dish Communications
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Phone: 818 508 1000
ashleym@dishcommunications.com
Print Source
Colby Glenn
Cadillac Hash, LLC
White Plains, 10605
Phone: 914 261 2561
oxyanafilm@gmail.com
US Sales Contact
Colby Glenn
Cadillac Hash, LLC
White Plains, 10605
Phone: 914 261 2561
oxyanafilm@gmail.com