The 13th Step is an award-winning documentary by filmmaker Monica Richardson that exposes the intimate and disturbing truth of Alcoholics Anonymous and its ongoing environment of sexual predation and violence.
A former member of AA for 36 years, filmmaker Monica Richardson has utilised her unprecedented access to members, leadership, and victims to complete the most compelling and newsworthy film on the subject to date.
A winner of the 2015 Beverly Hills Film Festival Jury Selection, The 13th Step seeks to finally reveal the ugly truth behind one of America’s most accepted organisations, and to inspire legislative action to correct years of abuse and manipulation.
The 13th Step can be viewed in the Documentary Corner throughout the festival and will be shown at the Marche du Film on 17 May 10.00 Gray 4 and 19 May 12.00 Palais C.
Monica will be over from Hollywood to meet buyers and press personally.
Monica Richardson is a filmmaker, grassroots activist and national blog talk radio person for her incredibly successful show “Safe Recovery”, which has over 200,000 downloads. Monica has appeared on a variety of news programs explaining and exposing the dangers of the” traditional “recovery process and offering safe alternatives. She is able to speak with authority based on her own experience.This past November, Monica appeared on an episode of CBS’ 48Hours The Sober Truth, and previously appeared on the Katie Couric Show.
Monica began her career studying both music and performance. She was a member of the Groundlings with fellow classmates Conan O’Brien and Damon Wayans. She also studied at the Playhouse West with Shawnee Smith and Heather Graham. In addition to being an actor, she has also released three music albums. Monica has enjoyed her work as voice actor appearing on the animated series Batman and Sofia the First. She has also done voiceovers for a number of national commercials.
Monica is the business manager of KMR Productions handling all accounting, expenses, and business matters for one of Hollywood’s most sought-after black voiceover actors in television today. Her business acumen allows her to understand the business of creating a film, sticking to tight budgets, and how to get a film out there — publicise it and ultimately secure a distributor. She has previously held positions at LACER after school programs, and 20th Center Fox Film Corporation.
More recently, in preparation for her documentary, Monica attended classes at the UCLA extension Documentary Film Class, “Produced By” conferences, the Hot Docs Conference in Toronto, West Docs, and Getting Real IDA Documentary Conference in Los Angeles. She also attended Midem conference at Cannes, and many ASCAP Expos.
Monica was recently awarded the Best Documentary Accolade in the 2015 Beverly Hills Film Festival and looks forward to meeting buyers and press in this Cannes Festival.
The Team
EDWIN STEVEN: Director of Photography/Camera Operations/Assistant Editor
Edwin was the primary cinematographer on the Emmy Award winning director Doug Pray’s film (Levitated Mass)and has also worked with such esteemed documentary names as Nirvan Mullick (Caine’s Arcade), Erin Heidenreich (The Other Shore), Bristol Baughan (Son of Rambow), Pete Vogt (Icons Among Us), Jeff Dowd (The Dude), Sara Terry (Fambul Tok, Folk), and Katie Turinski (Sissy Boy).
Monica Richardson the Director of The 13th Step with Barry Rubinow the Film Editor accepting The Award for Best Documentary Jury Selection
BARRY RUBINOW: Film Editor
Barry was the Senior Vice President of DOC: The Documentary Channel, where he supervised all original production and post production. DOC was the first channel in the United States to show documentaries on a full-time basis. The Documentary Channel was created in 1998 and was on the Dish Network. Rubinow is also a television and documentary film editor.
NATASIA GASCON: Executive Assistant to the Director/Office Priduction Assistant
“Val” is a graduate of the Art Institute of California — Los Angeles and the Art Institute of California—Hollywood with degrees in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production and is a proud member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Film Independent, the Junior Hollywood Radio and Television Society and the Emerging Artsist Leaders of Los Angeles.
GABRIELE GLASER: Content Advisor, History and Women’s Drinking
Journalist Gabrielle Glaser is the author of the New York Times bestseller, “Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink–And How They Can Regain Control,” (Simon and Schuster, 2013). Glaser’s work on the science of treating alcohol and substance use has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Wall Street Journal. Her ProPublica story on predators in Alcoholics Anonymous became an hour-long segment on 48 Hours. She has appeared as a frequent guest on television and radio, including NBC Nightly News, Katie!, NPR’s Fresh Air and OnPoint and All In with Chris Hayes.
ALAN GOLDMAN: Advisor to Filmmaker, Producer, Director and Writer
Alan began his career in radio and was part of the award-winning team that produced the five-part national CBC Radio series A Matter of Survival, Hosted by Dr. David Suzuki. Moving to television, Alan researched and produced for Venture, Shirley. He then moved to film and has won numerous awards for his work on documentary films as a researcher, writer producer and director. He worked with director Robert Duncan on a series of documentaires for television including Wird and Wonderful (Global), and The Funny Side of Death (CBC Witness).
DR. LANCE DODES: Former Director of Substance Abuse Treatment Unit, Harvard McClean Hospital
is a Training and Supervising Analyst Emeritus with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and was assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (retired). He has been the Director of the Substance abuse treament unit of Harvard’s McClean Hospital, Director of the Alcoholism Treatment Unit at Spauling Rehabilitation Hospital (now part of Massachusetts General Hospital) and Director of the Boston Center for Problem Gambling. He is a co-author of a number of journal articles and book chapters about addiction. His books The Heart of Addiction Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction, and The Sober Truth have been described as revolutionary advances in understanding how addictions work. He has been invited to speak about the treatment of addiction at symposia around the country.
STANTON PEELE: Author, Lecturer, and Addiction Blogger
Stanton Peele has been a cutting-edge figure in the addiction field for four decades since the publication of Love and Addiction in 1975. He has been a leader in opening up the field to an experiential, culturally and environmentally sensitive understanding of addiction and to practical, life-management approaches to treatment, harm reduction, and self help. Stanton has written 12 books (including The Meaning of Addiction, Diseasing of America, The Truth About Addiction and Recovery, 7 Tools to Beat Addition, and Addiction-Proof Your Child), and 250 professional articles, won numberous awards, including from the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs and the Drug Policy Alliance—the leading drug policy reform organization in America. He has created the Life Process Program for addiction treatment, which continues to be utilized worldwide. His latest book Recover! Stop Thinking Like an Addict and Reclaim Your Life with The PERFECT Program, written with Ilse Thompson, incorporates mindfullness and meditation techniques into a comprehensice self-help program. He was named the best addiction blogger by All Treatment and one of the ten most influential figues in the addiction field by The Fix.
DR. MARC F. KERN: Expert
Dr. Marc F. Kern is a recognized expert in the Addictions field. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (PSY 8246) from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1982. The following year, Dr. Kern founded Addiction Alternatives as a private practice in Los Angeles, CA to provide clients with non-12-step addiction treatment alternatives. At Alternatives, Dr. Marc Kern serves as the Director of Clinical Services.
DR. ANDREW TATARSKY: Expert
Dr. Andrew Tatarsky has developed Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (IHRP) for helping people with substance use concerns and other risky behavior. IHRP brings psychoanalysis, CBT and mindfulness together in a harm reduction frame. The therapy has been described in his book, Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: A New Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Problems, and a series of papers. The book has been translated into Polish and Spanish. Andrew holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the City University of New York. He is Founder and Director of the Center for Optimal Living in NYC, a treatment and training center that is based in Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy; founding member and Past-President, Division on Addiction of New York State Psychological Association, Member of the Board of Moderation Management Network, Inc., and clinical advisor to the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
HANK LINDERMAN: Music Engineer
Leon Luis Atar Boy Music USA: Music Supervisor
Music has the ability to bring a documentary to life and both Hank and Leon worked closely with Monica to place an amazing range of artists who highlight this film’s poignancy.
Legal Representation (Europe)
Julia de Cadenet from Film and Business Law London/Paris will be on hand throughout the festival to answer questions pertaining to world-wide rights of The 13th Step. Julia, a dual qualified lawyer is an accredited buyer of movies.
It is her 14th year in Cannes. + 44 207 129 1449 http://www.filmandbusinesslaw.com
Julia De Cadenet 