Withdrawal
- Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026, 7:15pm
Screening location: SIFF Film Center – 167 Republican St, Seattle (located within the Seattle Center, just north of Climate Pledge Arena / east of KEXP and The Vera Project)
Writer/director/editor Aaron Strand scheduled to join for an in-person intro and Q&A. Raw, unflinching, and surprisingly funny, WITHDRAWAL was shot on miniDV in Athens, GA for a budget of $60k and is a prime example of indie filmmaking at its finest.
Artistic lovers Viv (Millie Rose Evans) and Jay (Brent Michal) are trapped in a vicious cycle of codependent heroin addiction. When Viv's wealthy parents hire an interventionist to take her to rehab, the couple decides to go it alone with nothing but a suboxone prescription and each other. All they have to do is survive one harrowing night of withdrawal. As the hours tick by, physical, mental, and emotional torments send them searching through fractured memories, trying to figure out where it all went wrong.
Winner of a dozen awards on the festival circuit, including Best Feature/Best Director at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival and Best Actress at the Kanazawa Film Festival.
“Withdrawal could well be the best film about addiction since Requiem for a Dream.” Bobby LePire, Film Threat
“Superbly acted and jarringly raw and realistic to the core, Withdrawal offers a harsh look at drug addiction through expert filmmaking.” Becca Johnson, Film Focus Online