A WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER BESTOR CRAM

For 10 years, our production team explored ways to uncover the experience of the 12 Steps for Addiction Recovery described in The Big Book written more than 75 years ago by Bill Wilson. 

The journey led to a play, Dr. Bob and Bill W., written by Dr Samuel Shem and Janet Surrey and performed in theaters across the nation. Conceived as a dramatic telling of the founding of AA, it connected us to finding Gary Kimble performing the roll of AA founder Bill W. alongside Richard Springle as Dr. Bob. 

The play was conceived as a vehicle for seeing the 12 Steps in development, reliving the struggle to find a “cure” that would sustain sobriety. 

As we documented the actors immersion into the characters, we bore witness to their own lives as reflected in their “stage” character. 

It became the foundation for bearing witness to the steps learned along the way to recovery. The film tracks a 10 year odyssey, ending in Florida, a leading center for recovery programs. Gary’s ambitions and struggles bring him to Delray Beach where he becomes a counselor to young men and women who are part of an immersive program to attain sobriety. 

The film is created in a cinema verite tradition, observing intimate interactions as they unfold, revealing the tension and anxiety associated with confronting personal demons, and the depth of dignity that is achieved through 12 Step Recovery. It is not an advocacy film but rather an exploration of Gary K.’s commitment to a process that reveals the depth of his devotion and the ongoing daily struggle to lead a life of sobriety.