Filmmaker Statement

I started writing Buy Sell Trade in the winter of 2018 inspired by my niece Chloe and my brother Jacob. He’d been having a rough time after losing his job and falling out with his partner. During this bout with depression, I noticed how my family, particularly my dad, had always been there for him even through his worst. But when he started to live with us it didn’t seem to help. I was bothered by the way he acted and how he seemed to fall into the same bad habits. Being away in college I wasn’t able to stay on top of it. My brother passed away in 2020 after battling complications exacerbated by diabetes and addiction. Buy Sell Trade was always a fictional story inspired by real people. I didn’t set out with the intent of tackling the opioid crisis and the catastrophic impact it’s had on this country but I do think it’s important to show an otherwise normal family dealing with a subject previously thought taboo.