A film written, directed, and produced by Brazilian filmmaker Enzo Flores is part of the Official Selection of NewFilmmakers NY and the Golden Door International Film Festival.
The story begins in a present-day Bushwick, where a young heroin dealer struggles to keep up with the enormous demand, while his sister wanders the neighborhood in a desperate search for her next fix. Although the drug trade ensures their mother’s safety, a set of contradictions unravels the family ties.
In light of the Spanish dialect spoken in some scenes throughout the film, as well as the Puerto Rican flag of Irving hanging on the wall of his room, it is safe to assume that the dysfunctional family is made up of first or second-generation immigrants. Considering that Central Americans 
represent the original residents of Bushwick, who are now marginalized by real estate development and economic growth, their central participation in the narrative serves as a critical display of their conflicting identity on both individual and spatial levels.
Furthermore, in correspondence with the prevalent and legitimate issues addressed by the film, it would not be an exaggeration to state that Dope Sick is a hybrid work of “fictionalized reality,” in which the narrative is generated and based on the tangible reality of the neighborhood.
In a pivotal moment, the film cuts to a wide shot 
of a pile of used heroin syringes scattered across the floor of an abandoned railway, emphasizing the fact that many users go exactly to this location in search of a synthetic detachment to rid themselves of the debilitating symptoms of dopesickness.
In the grand scheme of things, this moment offers a snapshot of the vast public health crisis plagued by the opioid epidemic, which has spread across nearly every county, city, and neighborhood in America over the past 
decade, claiming the lives of more than a quarter of a million people, regardless of their social class or ethnic group.
Speaking with the writer and director of Dope Sick, Enzo Flores, about his main motivations for addressing the theme of heroin addiction, I noted his natural inclination to focus on the complexities of the problem on a broad scale. Highlighting the significant involvement of doctors and pharmaceutical companies in generating what is now known as the opioid crisis, the Brazilian filmmaker spoke about the challenging process of building the narrative around the multifaceted and 
intricate set of issues. He shared that his intention during the development process was to intertwine the mysterious nature of chemical dependency, the broad set of circumstantial conditions, and the systemic impetus that leads individuals to use drugs in the first place. Based on Enzo’s experience of living in Bushwick for several years and navigating that space as a South American immigrant from a 
small-town background, it is clear that the filmmaker examines his sense of privilege and belonging through the exploration of the film’s characters and conflicts.
Premiering at the historic Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and at the Loew’s Jersey Theater in Jersey City, Dope Sick has been selected for national and international film festivals, and is now available for free streaming on the filmmaker’s Vimeo channel.
Links: www.enzoflores.com; Vimeo Channel: vimeo.com/user37544249; www.imdb.com/name/nm9294563/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0