"Most High," a film scored by AU professor Paul Oehlers, was screened at the Greenberg Theatre Sunday. Oehlers, who teaches Sound Synthesis and Audio Fundamentals in the College of Arts and Sciences, participated in a panel discussion with director Marty Sader.
Sader's directorial debut, "Most High," is a gripping portrayal of drug addiction, perhaps the most stunning in recent years. Named Best Picture in the Indiefest Chicago Film Festival, it brings to new consciousness an age-old problem.
The screening was the East Coast premiere of the film. AU professor Jeffrey Middents, who will have Sader in as a guest in his Critical Approach to Cinema class, thinks "Most High" is an interesting film.
"It's nice to see someone taking a chance with a daring movie and allowing AU to show it and premiere it," Middents said.
After the screening, Sader talked about how he used his own personal experience in making the film. Sader said he had experimented with drugs but soon quit.
"I saw that my friends who were addicted had changed," Sader said.
"Most High," despite being fictional, has elements of a documentary. Between the storyline are shots of recovering addicts who talk about why they became addicted and how they stay clean. These shots provided a real glimpse to the cause of addition, rather than the effects of it.
Sader wrote, directed and starred in the film and gained 75 pounds to play the role of Julius, the adult child of an addict. He said his diet consisted of protein and no vegetables or carbohydrates. Julius works as a counselor helping the mentally challenged. On the surface, he seems relatively normal. However, beneath, Julius' job shields him from the pain he has. His father died when he was young.
After Julius is fired from the clinic, he is introduced to crystal meth. Julius soon develops a chemical-induced love affair with the daughter of his guardian, all the while, his life begins to fall apart.
Sader pointed out that in Julius, he wanted to write a character that was likable. He said that he decided to write a character that worked at a regular job involving helping others.
He said that there's no real thing as getting into the character. "You have to get to know yourself," he said.
