First Steps - Tribeca (2018)

Set in the claustrophobic confines of a drug-rehabilitation program for mothers and their children in Newark, New Jersey, this documentary tells the story of three women fighting to get clean. If the women complete the 24/7 program they will keep custody of their kids: if not, they risk losing them again. Julie has lost nine other children to foster care before entering the program. Paige, at only 19, has been shunned by her family and struggles the most with the center's strict rules. Stacey walks bent over after her back was broken by a drug dealer, and needs to choose between getting surgery or risk losing her child's custody again. Rather than dwelling on their past, this film focuses on the highs and lows of recovery, offering an intimate, heart-felt portrait of the shame associated with addiction, the complexity of motherhood, and the resilience of the women trying to fight back.