“Behind the Orange Curtain” Looks at Lethal Drug Abuse Among Youth

Documentary by Brent Huff explores the rise of prescription drug abuse

and its devastating effects on South Orange County youth

Directed by Brent Huffs, “Behind the Orange Curtain,” is a documentary about the heightened prescription drug abuse by teens and young adults in South Orange County.

Currently in production, Huffs has been interviewing parents, teachers, and even representatives of pharmaceutical corporations who have been affected by the increasing epidemic.

In an article by the Orange County Register, the statistics of overdoses in teens and young adults are startling: from 130 in 2003 to 266 in 2009. In 2010, figures (albeit preliminary) are showing that there were 240.

Huffs, a part-time instructor at The Performers Academy in Laguna Woods, was introduced to the idea of making the documentary by the Academy’s owner, Natalie Costa. She in turn, was inspired after attending the funeral for her daughter’s friend, 17 year-old Mark Melkonian of Dana Hills High School.

An L.A. native, Huffs admits he had “a preconceived notion that Orange County – particularly the affluent neighborhoods in South County – was a place where very little happens that could be described as ‘bad.’”

On the Performers Academy blog, Costa explains they hope the documentary is shown everywhere, from theaters to churches to high schools with the aim that:

Teenagers and parents alike need to become more educated about this latest epidemic in drug abuse. We hope and believe “Behind the Orange Curtain” will not only educate but save lives.