After 17 years of addiction, Raina finds a lifeline in compassion
Growing up in a tumultuous household and feeling alienated from her peers, Raina never felt comfortable in her body. After running away from home, these constant feelings of discomfort led to a heroin addiction that she battled for 17 years. Do No Harm tells her story of struggle and recovery, which spans the streets of Portland, Seattle and Boston and several recovery programmes – until the unconditional support of one physician gives her the space she needs to heal. Combining live-action footage and rotoscope animation, the US director Joanna Rudnick conveys Raina’s story with empathy and artistry. Do No Harm is the second instalment of The Opioid Trilogy, in which Rudnick puts names, faces and deeply personal accounts to the US opioid epidemic, a crisis so often reduced to statistics.
Producers: Joanna Rudnick, Niema Jordan
Website: Independent Lens
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