Coffee - the gateway drug. Ed - a would-be novelist. Desperate to find that golden idea. He knows the risks he is taking. He's seen the reports. Coffee leads from cup to cup to hard bean dependency. Anti bean posters haunt the streets, whilst advocates flaunt their notoriety amongst the mainstream. Void of any true, natural talent and fresh out of ideas, Ed is at the end of the line. It's time to cross over to the other side.
Director’s Statement -
Inspired by propaganda films like Reefer Madness, Addict was originally conceived as an off the cuff satirical exposition on the nature of drugs, criminalization, addiction, and the way these are often hilariously misrepresented by politicians and the media. As we explored the idea, Ben and I saw an opportunity to craft a short story set in an alternative universe where coffee was one such drug, powerful enough to serve as a gateway to serious and debilitating addiction. Although we began developing the idea with slapstick humor in mind, the story that emerged from the page grew into a much darker tale, one that takes it’s hero to extreme heights, only to suck him back down again, his descent taking on a terminal velocity.