(2005) 8 min
Learn how to cope with substance abuse in your family from the Phoenix House
Learn how to cope with substance abuse in your family from the Phoenix House.
More About Happy Ending from Director Chris Irrizarry
Happy Ending was produced at the HBO Young Filmmakers Lab at the Prospect Park YMCA in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I joined the program in Spring 2003 and completed my movie in April 2004.
I had a secret and I felt that people needed to know. My mom always told me never to tell anybody about the secret. Making this film was a big step for me. I came to the HBO Young Filmmakers Lab in spring of 2003 with the help of my counselor, Neil. He believed in me and wanted to help me to tell my story. It was harder than I expected. After a couple of false starts I got a camera as a present and I took it with me to Philadelphia to film my mother and to finish what I started. My teachers helped me to shape the movie into what it is: the truth about my life.
Happy Ending has been seen by a lot of people and to be honest, that makes me uncomfortable. It feels like a lot of people feeling sorry for me and I don’t like that. I just want them to see what a lot of kids go through and not to judge a person by the way they look.
Producer
HBO Young Filmmaker Lab