Black Tar Heroin (film)

Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street
Directed by	Steven Okazaki
Produced by	Steven Okazaki
Music by	Cat Power, Tanya Donelly, Mr. T Experience, Team Dresch, Varnaline, Space Needle, Eve Bekker & Karl Goldring
Cinematography	Steven Okazaki
Distributed by	Farallon Films
Country	United States
Language	English

Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street is a 1999 documentary directed by Steven Okazaki. Filmed from 1995 to 1998 in the Tenderloin, San Francisco, California, the documentary describes the lives of heroin addicts.

Overview

The film follows a simple structure, and shows the drug-related degradation of five youths (Jake, Tracey, Jessica, Alice, Oreo) during the course of three years. The film depicts drug-related crimes and diseases: prostitution, male prostitution, AIDS, and lethal overdoses.

Release

• The film was produced by HBO and was frequently shown in 1999 on the channel, as part of their "America Undercover" series, becoming one of its top-rated documentaries.
• The documentary received a theatrical release on the 17th of March, 2000 at San Francisco's Roxie Theatre, and is still available on DVD.

Soundtrack

Songs featured in the film:

• Good Clean Fun – Cat Power
• Sweet Ride – Tanya Donelly
• Don't Try Suicide – Team Dresch
• She's Coming Over – Mr. T Experience
• Long Goodbye – Ovarian Trolley
• Some Foggy Mountain Top – Mr. T Experience
• Why Are You Unkind – Varnaline
• Never Lonely Alone – Space Needle
• Dark End of the Street – Eve Bekker & Karl J. Goldring

External links

• Official site for the film
• Interview with director Steven Okazaki about the film
• Article on Bright Lights Film Journal
• Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street at the Internet Movie Database