By Kesh Tyagi
Waiting for Blueberry Hall
What lengths would you go to just to achieve The American Dream? Would you be willing to enter the world of drugs and crime as a stepping stone to change the world?
This is the story of college debaters in an upcoming movie called Blueberry Hall, to be released in late August.
World Premier August 23rd - 27th
Welcome to
The Blueberry Hall
Ian’s golden ticket to Harvard Law School is winning the Debate National Championship but when funding falls through, he and his friends deal prescription drugs as they snowball into a world of crime.
Ian’s golden ticket to Harvard Law School is winning the Debate National Championship but when funding falls through, he and his friends deal prescription drugs as they snowball into a world of crime.
By Kesh Tyagi
Director
Cast and Crew
- Writer and Director: Kesh Tyagi
- Producers: Kesh Tyagi, Ty Dickson, Sean Patrick Eaton
- Co-Producer: Amrish Sengupta
- Associate Producers: Austin Lee Fielding, Mitch Meyer, Laurie Cummings, John Scamehorn
- Cinematographer: Samuel Calvin
- Editors: Mark Sult, Michael Mazzola
- Casting Director: Chris Freihofer
- Sound Mixer: Brian Gililland
- Cast: Matt Holms, Chris Lam, Josh Bonzie
Actors
Film Synopsis
The story of Blueberry Hall revolves around Ian, a college debater who aims to make a positive change in the world. Ian’s path to politics is to win the Debate National Championship.
Debating is his golden ticket to a full scholarship at Harvard Law School. After he begins using study-enhancing drugs, Ian learns of the school’s budget cuts from Coach Kip and that his parents are struggling with their finances, too.
Coach Kip believes that Ian and his partner, Dustin, both have the potential for a promising future if they win the debate. And so, he instructs them to fundraise for tournaments.
With the help of Kam, Ian and Dustin get into the underground prescription drug business. A simple plan to fund their tournament spirals into a world of crime and drugs, all while debating to change the world.
Musicians
Eli Wimmer
Moriah Bailey
Tyson Meade
J French
A Film Centered on Debate and Drugs
Prescription drug abuse has a significant history, from the 50’s Beat movement and the 60’s LSD outbreak to the 80’s cocaine scene. And in recent years, contemporary culture has shifted to a new age of substance abuse.
One way to understand a culture is by looking at how it values or devalues certain psychoactive substances. Today, our culture places a significant emphasis on increasing competitiveness and hyper-productivity.
Medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) seem to allow for hyperperformance in the users’ minds. As a result, these prescription drugs are popping up around college campuses everywhere.
ADHD drugs, like Adderall, are being used by students to stay awake, speed up, and focus on the work at hand. Studies also show that nearly a third of college students admit they have illegally used ADHD medication to enhance their academic performance.
Despite being a widespread phenomenon, this story has yet to be told by our generation, in our voice. And our film, Blueberry Hall, strives to tell that story.
It is about a college student facing the struggles of professional aspiration and doing good while being confronted by the ethical dilemmas in his fast-paced world. We also used debate, an appropriately cerebral sport, to fit well in this “scholastic steroid” era.
Our movie focuses on college kids who aspire to make a difference in others’ lives and change the world through debate. But as the story unfolds, they begin to cross the fine line between medicinal and recreational drug use and become entangled in the world of narcotics.
Although prescription drugs frequent the news, no one has attempted to tell a story that captures the human element and delves deep into the characters. Blueberry Hall is our attempt to do just that.
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