America’s opioid epidemic is examined through the eyes of a mother and son in Director Peter Hedges’ new drama, Ben Is Back.
Hedges’ film tells the story of Ben Burns (Lucas Hedges), a young man who unexpectedly returns home on Christmas Eve after spending time in a treatment center following his heroin overdose. While his mother Holly (Julia Roberts) is happy to see her son returned, she is also worried about his ability to remain clean and ready to do everything in her power to keep him and the rest of her family safe.
Following the DGA membership screening in New York on December 16, Hedges sat down with Director Maggie Greenwald (Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane) to discuss the making of Ben Is Back and the challenges of directing his own son in a lead role. He also discussed the film in a conversation moderated by Director Craig Johnson (Alex Strangelove) following the DGA screening in Los Angeles on December 14.
In addition to Ben Is Back, Hedges’ credits include the feature films The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Dan in Real Life and Pieces of April. He also shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay with Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz for their script to the Weitz’s 2002 feature About a Boy. Hedges has been a DGA member since 2002.
You can listen to Hedges' Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.