“Farnsworth brings a smidgen of scary energy
to the social hellfire, and his newbie cast often out acts the pros.” – Village Voice
FOLLOWING REQUIEM FOR A DREAM AND DRUGSTORE COWBOY COMES A searing tale of love and addiction SET AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE MIDWESTERN CRYSTAL METH EPIDEMIC
IOWA
Rosanna Arquette, John Savage and Michael T. Weiss Star in the 2006 TriBeCa Film Festival Official Selection from Hot New Filmmaker Matt Farnsworth
…Only From KOCH Vision
IN STORES FEBRUARY 10
Port Washington, NY (January 4, 2009) – Spoof, dope, crank, creep, bomb, spank, bang, zip, tweak, shard: whatever you call it, the methamphetamine epidemic is ravaging the Midwest. This February, the award-winning indie which takes an unflinching fictional look at the out-of-control drug problem facing Middle America will debut on DVD from KOCH Vision. Written, directed, produced by and starring newcomer Matt Farnsworth (Sibling, Losing Grace), IOWA also features Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction, Crash), John Savage (The Deer Hunter, The Thin Red Line) and Michael T. Weiss (“Bones,” Freeway) in a cautionary tale in the tradition of Requiem for a Dream and Drugstore Cowboy. IOWA also includes the bonus documentary Dying for Meth (along with the edited version Poor Man’s Dope), an eye-opening biography of an Iowa family in crisis. The searing tale of love and addiction arrives in stores on February 10 for $24.98srp.
When actor Matt Farnsworth returned to his family home in Centerville, Iowa, he was shocked to find a community that had changed dramatically in the four years since his last visit. The poverty level was noticeably higher, many kids were visibly on drugs, and the whole town seemed to be talking about friends and family members who were struggling with addiction. Deeply saddened by what he saw, Farnsworth assembled a dedicated production crew, a stellar cast and a no-holds-barred script. The resulting feature film, IOWA, earned Best Picture and Best Actress (Diane Foster) awards at the Midwest Independent Film Festival, and was an Official Selection at the TriBeCa Film Festival. Following the suspicious death of his father, Esper (Farnsworth) and his love Donna (Diane Foster) have been made recent beneficiaries to a large sum of insurance money. Hoping to escape their small town existence, they plunge into the dangerous world of crystal meth production and soon become addicts themselves. Now on the run from a dirty parole officer (Weiss), in cahoots with his gold-digging mother (Arquette), Esper finally snaps out of his drug-crazed delusion and decides he’s not going down without a fight.
In conjunction with the production of IOWA, Farnsworth also set his sights on telling the non-fiction story of the destruction of a family caught up in drug addiction. Over a four year period, he followed Amber McNeeley and her family, whose mere curiosity about methamphetamine led to devastating abuse. The 40 minute documentary Dying for Meth, which is included as a bonus feature on the IOWA DVD, is “a hard hitting and very convincing production that most certainly should be viewed by students and community groups alike,” (Medical Journal Review). A second, edited version of the documentary, and winner of a 2003 DV Award, Poor Man’s Dope is also featured on the DVD.
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