The Antidote

NOW AVAILABLE TO RENT OR OWN

Release Date: October 16, 2020

Running Time: 101 min

Rating: NR

Directors: Kahane Cooperman, John Hoffman

Producers: Kahane Cooperman, John Hoffman

Editors: Armando Croda, Andrew Saunderson

Synopsis: The divisions in the United States are what drive headlines and political discourse. But kindness — as a serious response, a vital counterbalance, and a tool to make things better — is instrumental to American life. The country is filled with a constellation of everyday citizens not performing small gestures or what’s often called “random acts of kindness,” but intentional, willful, and sometimes large-scale efforts to improve the lives of others.

In fact, the bygone era of unity and hopefulness that politicians often evoke is actually put into action every day, made stronger by the connections different communities find. Searching for examples of that hopefulness was the mission that filmmakers Kahane Cooperman and John Hoffman set for themselves in THE ANTIDOTE. They find many: A Congolese refugee family in Alaska; a California teacher whose class fosters religious tolerance; a single mom in Texas receiving help continuing her education; a clinic that restores respect and provides health care to the homeless population in Boston; members of a differently-abled center in upstate New York that is a vibrant part of its town; a subsidized housing center in Portland, Oregon that blends the needs of seniors and foster families; a professor of Christian Ethics in Georgia who renounced his anti-LGBTQ+ views; an Indianapolis community organizer who lives up to his job title of “Roving Listener.” “If ever there was a time for kindness, this is it,” says Hoffman. “It wouldn’t have occurred to us to make this film a few years ago. But THE ANTIDOTE was made in response to the time we’re living in now.”