"THE HILL WITCHES OF NEVADA COUNTY" is a powerful story that follows a Stage 4 pancreatic cancer patient’s determination to survive, his collaboration with his integrative medicine oncologist with the guidance and folk-wisdom of a Hill Witch who has 20 years experience as one of America’s leading cultivators and cannabis healers.
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On June 2017, Steve Giardina was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After surgery and 6 months of intense chemotherapy, Steve went into remission. Eight months later his cancer metastasized, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was informed additional surgery wasn’t an option. Knowing he faced a more devastating round of chemotherapy, he started to look for ways to mitigate the debilitating side effects.
What he discovered was an integrated medical approach that included medical cannabis. “THE HILL WITCHES OF NEVADA COUNTY,” tells Steve’s compelling story, exploring the emotional roller coaster that cancer has put him and his family though, his evolution from abstaining from to embracing medical cannabis, how his collaborative relationship with the area’s leading oncologists/integrative medicine/oncologist has helped him understand and advocate for his care and well being, and the guidance and validation that he and his doctor receive by one of the area’s self-taught experts in medical cannabis, Wade Laughter - a self-proclaimed Hill Witch cultivator and extractor.
Along the way the story will be augmented with information of what science knows about cannabis, the “reefer madness” misinformation that permeates our culture, the pro-marijuana’s efforts to litigated the removal of marijuana from the list of Schedule One drugs, those passionately against it and their battle to keep dope off the streets and restrict its use, and the stories of other patients who have benefited from the use of medical cannabis to help with a variety of ailments including childhood epilepsy, glaucoma, and fibromyalgia.
Our Theme - Advocacy
We find it hard to believe that Steve is a unicorn, a lucky soul whose DNA is enabling him to maintain a co-existence with his cancer. There must be thousands and thousands of patients who could benefit from the use of cannabis. They just have to overcome the same "reefer madness" obstacles and misunderstanding Steve had about cannabis. Our hope is to get this documentary in front of those who can truly benefit from a cannabis supplement, to open their hearts and minds to the possibilities and then empower them to advocate for their health, to access help and seek out medical professionals that can they collaborate with to a healthier existence.
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Recently, we gathered a small crew to shoot a short concept video. We wanted to get more familiar with our subject matter, explore our approach to the documentary, and introduce ourselves to our primary participants.
The following videos (one that introduces the story's theme and personalities, the other a teaser) are the results of the shoot.
We hope you enjoy them.
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In 2019, Steve, Dr. D’Andre, and Wade Laughter gathered together at the Nevada Theater for a riveting, science-based presentation about cannabis, chemotherapy, the myths surrounding cannabis, the revelations and importance of endocannabinoid system, and the hope of future research.
The theater was packed and hundreds more watched live online. But because of the poor quality of the video, the multiple requests for a follow-up presentation, and the viral impact of the youtube video, we decided a documentary was in order.
Many of the team that will work on the documentary, also worked on the short promo film we did for the Nevada City Film Festival (one of the top five film festivals in California - and that’s saying a lot)
Check out the short bios of our principal characters and filmmaking team.
Get more details and what we need and what we want to say in our documentary.
Got questions? Reach out and email or call us. We'd love to talk with you.
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