Experiencing Interruptions?

Tales: A Cautionary Story about Heroin Addiction

Using painted allegorical images, this story reimagines Pinocchio as the boy who does not look at consequences, experiments with drugs and becomes addicted to heroin. Statistical commentary on addiction is interwoven throughout the story.

  • Theresa DeSalvio
    Director
  • Theresa DeSalvio
    Writer
  • Theresa DeSalvio
    Producer
  • Theresa DeSalvio
    Key Cast
  • Michael DeMaio
    music
  • The Amelia String Quartet
    Musicians
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    educational, documentary, short, animated
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 25, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    250 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • The Brightside Tavern Shorts Festival
    Jersey City, NJ
    United States
    July 16, 2016
  • Hudson Valley International Film Festival
    Monroe, NY
    United States
    August 27, 2016
  • The Erie International Film Festival
    Erie, Pa
    United States
    November 26, 2016
  • The Great Lakes International Film Festival

    United States
    December 10, 2016
  • Impact Docs Awards
    La Jolla, California
    United States
    January 7, 2017
  • Hang onto Your Shorts Film Festival
  • Royal Starr Film Festival
Director Biography - Theresa DeSalvio

"Tales: A Cautionary Story about Heroin Addiction" is Theresa DeSalvio's first film, created following the publication of her bilingual book of the same title (English/Spanish, 36 pages). DeSalvio is a visual artist who has created numerous series of narrative paintings that explore social issues, including: relationships and alienation; social change; survival (cancer); and currently heroin addiction. DeSalvio was the featured artist in the DEA "Heroin Addiction Art Exhibition." Her work has been exhibited in many group and solo exhibitions, including: Johnson & Johnson World Headquarters, Queens College Rosenthal Library, Passaic Community College, Fairleigh Dickinson University and the Annemarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center (an affiliate of the Smithsonian Art Institute). It is also in the permanent collection of the Fortune Society.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I began "Tales" in 2014 for both personal reasons and in response to my growing awareness of the heroin epidemic that we face across our country. I am an artist whose work explores social issues in narrative form. When I began making these paintings, I did not know how many there would be or where they would lead me. I had no idea that the paintings would become the basis for a book and film. The narrative that appears in "Tales: A Cautionary Story about Heroin Addiction", came later as did the statistical information about the wide-reaching effects of addiction on society. Through presenting the paintings, the book and the film, it became clear to me that honest drug education is critical to prevention.
Through numerous screenings, the feedback I have gotten from addicts and their families is that I have told a story that is true, one that they all recognize from their own experience.