The Strand Theatre is partnering with the Delaware Public Health District, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, and the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office to present a screening of “Our American Family” and a panel discussion on opioid addiction as part of the theatre’s Delaware Community Conversations: Meaningful Movies. The initiative shares local perspectives on critical issues affecting our world.
The screening and discussion will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. at the Strand, 28 E. Winter St. in downtown Delaware. The event, in recognition of September being Drug Addiction and Recovery Month, is the third of three 2024 installments of the Meaningful Movies initiative.
There is an admission charge. On a first come, first served basis, the health district will offer 100 free movie tickets for each film in the series made possible by charitable contributions of Angela Jackson, who lost her daughter to an overdose in 2018. She will kick off the second movie in the series.
The evening begins with “Our American Family,” a critically acclaimed 2021 film that focuses on a close-knit Philadelphia family, fighting generational addictions. Afterward, three experts will address opioid addiction and how it has affected Delaware. The panelists are Melissa Ebling of Maryhaven, Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, and Deanna Brant of the Delaware Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. The panel discussion will be co-moderated by Robbi Moore of the Strand and Dr. Chris Fink of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Meaningful Movies is a spin-off of the Strand Theatre’s popular Tuesday Night Series, which explores a monthly theme through movies. September’s Tuesday Night movies will also explore addiction with “Flight” on Sept. 3, “A Good Person” on Sept. 10, “The Lost Weekend” on Sept. 17, and “A Star is Born” (2018) on Sept. 24.
“Pairing a movie with a panel discussion makes a national issue more local and relevant,” said Tracey Peyton, managing director of the Strand. “The Strand is proud to provide innovative, forward-thinking events like this to explore difficult topics. We look forward to hosting many more innovative events like this in the future.”
Delaware Community Conversations: Meaningful Movies will return in 2025, and its counterpart, the Tuesday Night Series will continue to focus on related topics during these months. For information on the Tuesday Night Series and Meaningful Movies, visit www.strandtheatreoh.org.
Submitted by the Strand Theatre.
