CLEAN SLATE
Two best friends in rehab try to make a short film.
AVAILABLE NOW
Hosting a community screening event of Clean Slate is an excellent way for recovery, faith, mental health, and creativity-based organizations to engage their members and spark conversation with meaningful content. If you’re interested in purchasing a public screening license, please contact jonathan@peoplepeoplemedia.com
about the film
LOGLINE:
Two friends in a Southern drug recovery program struggle to come to terms with their addiction and mental illness by making a short film about the pain they’ve caused their families.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT:
“Clean Slate is a feature-length documentary that provides an immersive, verité look into the world of recovery amid the biggest drug epidemic in American history. Everyone knows someone who's in recovery, or someone who should be. In following Cassidy and Josh as they attempt to make a short film, our goals are to give viewers a space to empathize with those who struggle and to show how the creative process can be a lifeline to those in crisis. Although most everyone knows someone who’s in recovery or should be, many well-meaning people fail to understand the complex imprisonment that comes with the disease of addiction. Rather than preaching statistics, Clean Slate gives viewers an intimate window into the lives of two filmmakers and the relationship between creativity and recovery.”
– Jared Callahan, director/producer
PRODUCTION STORY:
One spring after Jared Callahan finished speaking on a panel at the Atlanta Film Festival, Cassidy Detmer approached him about making a movie. Though initially hesitant, Jared agreed to coffee with Cassidy, who was living in a residential drug recovery program at the time. Two and a half hours later, Jared had heard Cassidy’s life story and been introduced into the world of drug recovery in the American South.
Together with Cassidy’s best friend Josh Litton, they began developing script ideas. Cassidy & Josh poured their life experiences onto the page — the pain they’ve caused their families on the road of recovery. Jared realized that the process of turning this script into a short film would itself be a story full of catharsis, redemption, and healing. He recruited a team of filmmakers to live in Georgia for the summer to document everything. The team embedded themselves in the rehab facility, staying on the property in a room with bunks beds that the folks in the recovery program had built. For two months, they and Jared filmed the development and pre-production process, all leading up to filming the short film with Josh and Cassidy at the helm.
Best friends in rehab making a short film about their lives. What could go wrong?
Watch “ON THE FENCE”
the short film the guys make in CLEAN SLATE
UPDATES ON THE GUYS
(after you finish the movie. spoilers abound.)
So, we finished filming in 2016…
JOsh
2 0 1 7
Josh got a job and moved in with his fantastic girlfriend, Ashley.
A P R I L 2 0 1 8
Both Josh and Cassidy were able to work on a short film shoot that Jared directed! Josh helped with grip and electric, and Cassidy assisted Jared with directing. The short film is called Meat Eater, and we had a ton of fun working together again.
On The Fence premieres at the Atlanta Film Festival! Which is the ending of Clean Slate. Here's the link to watch the entire short film online: On the Fence
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8
Josh and Ashley got married! They live in Georgia and have a dog named Halpert (yes, named after Jim from The Office). Cassidy was able to attend their wedding. In fact, he filmed it!
2 0 1 9
Josh has a difficult job of driving a forklift, which is a job skill he refined while at ABW. He is aiming to get a masters degree in Addiction Studies, and has plans to start a drone video piloting company.
M A R C H 2 0 2 0
Josh and Ashley were scheduled to come and visit the farm for a weekend and watch the movie for the first time! But COVID hit, and we had to cancel. :(
M A R C H 2 0 2 1
Ashley & Josh got an additional new puppy, Bernard, and he is amazing. They are happily married living near Gainesville, GA.
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2
Josh and Ashley are expecting their first child! The baby arrives in 2023 and we're SO happy for them :)
cassidy
A P R I L 2 0 1 8
Cassidy maintained sobriety and his construction job all through 2018, continuing to live with his mom and step-dad. He frequently wrote poems about his struggle with mental illness and addiction. They are beautiful and are published below.
Then, the Meat Eater shoot. Movies are fun. On the Fence premiered and is online.
A P R I L 2 0 1 9
Cassidy had a slip up and used pills. After an emotional and difficult decision, his Mom and step dad allowed him to stay. His boss allowed him to keep his job, but take time off to focus on his mental health. Cassidy tried to check into a mental health rehabilitation center, but had difficulties. Instead he got connected with a local recovery group in Newnan, Georgia for support.
M A Y 2 0 1 9
Cassidy wrote a 14-page script called 3 x 5 Cards. Like On the Fence, it was a way to process the negative emotions and thoughts he was experiencing. The script is incredibly honest and beautiful. Cassidy submitted it to a handful of script competitions. He is hoping to film it soon. You can read it, along with some of his other scripts, here.
J U N E 2 0 1 9
Cassidy relapsed and his mom and step dad asked him to find alternate lodging. He spent some time on the streets, but then his parents allowed him to come back and stay. He tried to save up to come and stay with us in the SF Bay Area for a couple weeks.
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9
Cassidy slipped up again on Kratom, and decided to leave his parents house. He stayed at a Stay Lodge for several weeks, and resumed planning his trip to the farm.
M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 2 0
Cassidy was able to save up enough to come and live with Jared and Jonathan (the CS filmmakers) on the farm where they live in the SF East Bay. Cassidy was able to do some work around the property, explore the creek, and watch movies with the community here. He watched a rough cut of the movie for the first time! "You guys did a really good job" was the first thing he said. Some of it was hard to watch and needed to be processed. But overall, he was looking forward to the story getting out into the world.
Then, after a difficult couple of weeks on the farm due to medication missteps and lack of sleep, Cassidy had a panic attack. The following days were really difficult, and Cassidy willingly went to a two-week mental health rehabilitation center 10 minutes away from the farm. The community members and film team were able to visit him every day. Cassidy wrote a script about his experience.
M A Y 2 0 2 1
After living in Oakland, CA for a year and working a steady job Cassidy moved back to Atlanta to be closer to family. He was ready to be home.
S U M M E R 2 0 2 2
After deliberation, Cassidy decides to once again enroll in a residential recovery center. It was a difficult decision, but a stable and supportive environment was what he needed most.
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2
Cassidy is doing GREAT. He still struggles, but is in a safe space with a strong community who knows the daily struggle. He's once again able to find space for creativity within the support of a recovery community. He recently texted us: "Staying open and honest about how I feel, and staying connected to the people that care about me, is everything to my recovery. Also keeping God first."
If you connected with Cassidy and Josh watching Clean Slate, please consider sending them a note / letter of encouragement at thecleanslatefilm@gmail.com.
In Memoriam
It breaks our hearts to bear this news, but Canyon is no longer alive. He showed up for Josh Litton’s graduation, after which his whereabouts were unknown. In the summer of 2018, Canyon once again relapsed. He tried to get help, but didn’t land anywhere permanently. Canyon then took his own life. We were absolutely devastated by the news.
5 years have passed since we filmed the bulk of Clean Slate, and unfortunately so have many of the men in the film. We are honored to have been so openly invited into the community. The men there received us warmly and were eager to tell us their stories. One of our favorite scenes in the film is when Doug played his bass guitar and the men showed us pictures of their families. You could make a feature film about each and every person in that room. We know that all of those men have people who love them, and we dedicate the impact of Clean Slate to them. We hope that in telling a few stories, we can provide light and hope to many.
For Canyon, his mother, and their family, and all whom we have lost, we offer this prayer:
When you lose someone you love,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you becomes fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.
Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.
There are days when you wake up happy;
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.
Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.
It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.
Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.
— by John O’Donohue, from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
If you are struggling, please reach out for help.