20/05/2018
ICAAD was an overwhelming experience. There was a buzz right from the beginning and anticipation around it. Catty and Sam and their team had put in so much effort and care, and it was an immense privilege to have The Circle shown at one of most prestigious conferences on Addiction in Europe. Father Joe was in London to attend the event, and everybody was very excited to meet him and to hear him talk. The screening of The Circle was sponsored by Paracelsus, and there was a popcorn stand and water bottles to keep people sustained on this very hot day in May. An audience of over 160 watched the film, sitting or standing wherever any available space came up. After the screening of the film there was a Q and A session with Father Joe and I. Father Joe was visibly moved by the event, by the palpable silence in the room as the audience absorbed the images reflecting the work he is doing with the street kids in India. Paracelsus took Father Joe and I and Catty and Sam and some other guests out for dinner in a hotel nearby which was a wonderful end to the day where we all had a chance to talk and come together and share stories from different fields of expertise and life experience.
I am still in a daze a week on at the response this film is getting, and how right from the beginning there has been an energy around this film. Anybody who has come in contact with it has been touched deeply by the children and the adults, some of whom are recovering addicts who heal themselves also in helping others and the Circle grows. I started making this film in January 2015 and it has been a very challenging experience on all levels but the most life affirming 3 years + to date.
Thank you to ICAAD for screening it and making it such a special day and to Paracelsus for sponsoring the actual event.
Philippa Frisby
Director and Producer
The Circle
