Benjamin Flaherty’s Shuffle, which picked up a grand jury award for best documentary at the recent SXSW, has rolled out a theatrical trailer thanks to Abramorama.
In the wake of the opioid epidemic, insurance companies were now required to cover addiction and mental health treatment at the same reimbursement rate as other medical conditions, but without any of the regulations, a move that effectively monetized the 40 million Americans struggling with these issues.
Filmed by Flaherty and his team for more than three years, Shuffle follows three individuals swept up in a cycle of insurance-fueled addiction recovery as patients are funneled to and from rehab facilities to gin up profits as clients are “bought and sold.” Flaherty’s participants also include an FBI informant, an insurance analyst and a former executive director at a Philadelphia-based treatment facility shuttered for fraud. It’s a subject matter close to Flaherty’s heart as the story is told through the lens of his own recovery journey.
The trailer drops as the Shuffle team has set a series of FYC screenings for voting members in L.A., New York and London in coming weeks. Upcoming public screenings include at Laemmle Monica Film Center on Nov. 6 (moderated by Jacinta director Jessica Earnshaw), the NoHo 7 on Nov. 18 (moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Gardner), and at London’s Curzon Bloomsbury on Dec. 4. On Nov. 20, the Shuffle team is hosting a nationwide appointment-viewing presentation on Kinema followed by a live Q&A with Flaherty moderated by investigative reporter and author Shoshana Walter (Rehab: An American Scandal) of the Marshall Project. Shuffle is available for documentary branch members to view on the AMPAS portal.
“We’re thrilled to share the theatrical trailer and bring Shuffle directly to Academy voters through these special presentations,” said Flaherty, who appears in the doc. Added producer Carra Greenberg: “Hosting the film on Kinema ahead of our January theatrical release allows us to reach the audiences who can help amplify this urgent story — one that exposes a predatory system and offers a roadmap for those seeking genuine recovery.”
Shuffle’s other honors include a jury award and audience award at the Lighthouse International Film Festival, and a jury award for best documentary at the Flyover Film Festival, El Paso Film Festival and Chagrin Falls Documentary Festival. It also received an impact campaign grant from Evoke Media that is being used to support outreach and audience engagement initiatives.
The 81-minute documentary — from Avocado Pictures and Bleach Films in association with Low Hanging Fruit Studios and Object & Animal — was produced by Greenberg, Benjamin Flaherty, Scott Paskoff and Harris Fishman. The executive producer roster includes Flaherty, Justin Benoliel, Carra Greenberg, Erin Malloy, Jon Paskoff, Susan Raiten, Rostam Zafari, Emma Ratcliffe and Dylan Mulick, with co-producer Erin Malloy and consulting producer Caroline Libresco.
Abramorama will release Shuffle in theaters in North America next year.
