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The Bitter Pill

Synopsis

With his hometown ravaged by the opioid epidemic, plaintiff attorney Paul Farrell Jr. sets out to take on giant pharmaceutical companies to hopefully recover enough money to make a lasting impact for the area. When his legal strategy catches the attention of lawyers across the country, all of the cases get rolled into the biggest civil litigation in US history. Will the case become too big for this small town lawyer, or will he rise to the occasion and effect change not just for his hometown but for the entire nation?

The Filmmakers

Clay Tweel Director

Clay is a director/producer/editor with a passion for telling poignant and complicated character based stories. His works include Make Believe, Print the Legend, Finders Keepers, The Innocent Man, Out of Omaha and Gleason - the last of which was shortlisted for an Academy Award and named one of the 5 best documentaries of 2016 by the National Board of Review. His projects have been distributed by Showtime, Netflix, HBO MAX, STARZ and Amazon Studios while working closely with companies that include Open Road, Campfire Studios and A24. Most recently, Clay executive produced and directed all four episodes of Heaven’s Gate: Cult of Cults, a doc series for HBO MAX based on religious sect’s mass suicide in 1997. He is currently directing two feature documentaries and producing a couple feature docs under his banner Parkside Films. 

Tim Grant Producer

Tim Grant is a director and producer from southern Appalachia. His work has explored economic, religious and cultural tensions of the American South, often through portraiture. As a producer, his films include Finders Keepers (2015), J. Cole Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming (2016), J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez (2017), and The Passing On (2020). As a director, Tim’s short documentary The Aria of Babyface Cauliflower Brown (2017) premiered internationally at Hot Docs and was selected by The New York Times’ Op-Docs series. Tim’s feature directorial debut with co-director Andy McMillan, Mississippi River Styx, premiered at the 2023 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. 

SHANNON E. RIGGS Producer

Shannon Riggs is a veteran producer of critically acclaimed film and television.  In the past two decades, she has worked on marquee titles for Netflix, Showtime, Amazon Studios, HBO Max and A24.  Since 2017, Shannon has been Clay Tweel’s producing partner at Parkside Films, overseeing character-driven, commercially appealing documentary work with powerful social impact.  Shannon is currently producing Parkside’s next three feature films which are in post-production and a slate of projects in development. Shannon was both a participant and now an advisor at Sundance's Financing & Strategy Intensive for Independent Women Filmmakers and is a mentor for #Startwith8Hollywood and WIF. After graduating from USC Film School, Shannon began her career at Spike Lee’s legendary production company, 40 Acres and A Mule.   A native Californian raised in Riverside, she lives with her husband Matt, a film and television propmaster, and their dog Bubbles, in a 1920’s bungalow in Highland Park they completely restored themselves.

MARY ROHLICH Producer

Mary Rohlich is the Head of TV and Film at Priyanka Chopra Jonas's production company, Purple Pebble Pictures where they develop and produce an extensive slate of both TV and Film projects. She previously served as an Executive Producer on the acclaimed Netflix series Atypical. Rohlich has produced hit comedies including Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses, and Identity Thief, and several notable and award-winning documentary features, including Gleason and Print the Legend. Mary also enjoys serving as a board member for the non-profit film organization, Vidiots.

Festivals & Awards

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

2024

World Premiere

DC/DOX

2024

Official Selection

Reviews

a profound David and Goliath story”

-The Ankler