This week’s episode – lucky number seven! – brings us New Jersey documentary producer/director, Ken Spooner. Ken co-directed the magnificent Life With Layla, a touching depiction of life as a young girl in a family struggling with the ravages of heroin addiction.

Ken’s journey through a multiyear production process doesn’t go without leaving an indelible impression, and we discuss the many ways spending time with a family of multiple drug addicts affects a filmmaker. Life With Layla is currently conducting local screenings throughout New Jersey, and is seeking national distribution.

You can find Ken’s earlier short film, To Be Strong, online. The 14 minute documentary chronicles the struggles of Anthony Daniels, a 22-year-old man from Ridgewood, New Jersey, who is battling Lymphoma for the third time.

Hope you enjoy this episode of Head Above Water, and stay tuned for next week’s Sundance Special, where we talk to Ben Wiessner, producer of Beast Beast, premiering at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival this weekend!

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Produced & Hosted by Jason Charnick
Music by Jason David White

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