Our New Film: Life in a Vial

Hey there! Thanks for reading our 2nd blog post EVER!
Today, we will be discussing our new film, Life in a Vial, which is about type one diabetes and insulin affordability. 
First of all, thank you SO much to those of you who have already watched the film! And for those of you who don't know, the film debuted on 05/14/2020, and is available to rent or purchase WORLDWIDE on Vimeo! Woot woot! There is a small fee for watching the film; however, 90% of the proceeds from the film will be donated to insulin affordability advocacy! 
Now, back to the concept of the film! Life in a Vial was written and directed by Samantha Bozin, and is a very personal subject for her, since she has lived with type one diabetes for nearly 20 years!! While in college, studying to become a professional actor, Samantha had a t1d friend confide in her that she was rationing her insulin because it was too expensive. Samantha knew she had to help her friend, but she also knew she had to help with this issue on a larger level. So when she graduated from college, Samantha decided to bring her passion for theatre and her passion for diabetes advocacy together! 
So... Samantha wrote the script one night, called her mom, and started figuring out how to make her idea come to life! Then, she asked some of her friends and industry colleagues to help her out. She first reached out to Samantha Yestrebsky (NYC based actor, known for Mosaic). Both Sams went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where they became good friends. So, Samantha B. reached out to Samantha Y. to be part of the cast (because Sam Y. is an amazing actor and has a really strong craft!!!) Then, Samantha reached out to Leah Abigail Shifrel, whom she met on Instagram through Samantha's fashion blog (@samanthakstyles if you wanna check it out). Leah is also a type one diabetic, and has a diabetes blog (@theblondetype1). She is also going to school to become a professional actor. Samantha felt like even though she and Leah had never met in person, she needed Leah to part of the Life in a Vial cast. I mean, it was perfect... Leah was an actor AND a type one diabetic! Who better to represent this story authentically?! The only character left to cast was "Marcus", and Samantha decided to cast Miles Thompson (not only because he is her boyfriend, but because he has really shown an appreciation and interest in filmmaking). So, once the roles were cast, Samantha reached out to her friends, Kate Raridon and Sedariest Hammond, to help out with the crew, and they were so generous and supportive in agreeing to help! 
Once Samantha had the Life in a Vial team, she set up the shoot date and prepared for filming! 
And that's basically how Life in a Vial was born! And although the first part of the film is the dramatized tale of what happens when college student (Abigail) rations her insulin and winds up in the hospital, it is based off of true events and stories Samantha has heard on the news and from t1d friends who have shared their experiences with high insulin costs. The second part of the film is a documentary-style talk back, where the audience watches a montage of interviews Samantha conducted with people in the diabetes community. Each person shown in this part of the film has a very unique perspective and connection to the subject matter of the film, and if you are interested, you can watch each person's individual interview on Fentress Film's instagram (@fentressfilms). Then, in the last part of the film, writer and director, Samantha Bozin, speaks directly to the audience and addresses the need for affordable insulin. Now that you've heard all the nitty gritty details of the film, we hope you are intrigued enough to watch it!