Sister Helen

A film by Rob Fruchtman and Rebecca Cammisa

Sister Helen, a tough, 69-year-old Benedictine nun, runs the Travis Center, a clean and sober halfway house for recovering addicts and ex-convicts in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx, New York. Mott Haven is the poorest congressional district in the nation, where extreme poverty, unemployment, drug abuse and crime have a distinct daily presence. The number of social service agencies set up to help the drug and alcohol-dependent in this community continues to be far too few to meet its rising demand.

She lives with 21 men of mixed race and economic backgrounds who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, or both. She runs a tough place. The rules include: required attendance at group meetings, random and humiliating urine samples, strict curfews, no lying, and any other thing Sister Helen wants when she wants it. She loves life and is often funny, but she is always on guard, trying to catch mistakes before they happen. She takes little chaff from the residents, frequently threatening to boot them out.

Sister Helen's tragic past holds the key to her present life and mission. Haunted by her own decades-long struggle with alcoholism and a string of tragic personal losses, including the violent murder of her 15 year-old son and the alcohol and drug-related deaths of her husband and second son, Sister Helen overcame her own alcoholism and established the center in 1989.

59 min. (also available at 88 min.) Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $75.

Nomination, Outstanding Directorial Achievement, Directors Guild of America, 2003
Documentary Directing Award, Sundance Film Festival, 2002
Golden Hugo Award, Chicago International Film Festival, 2002
Jury Prize, Best Documentary Film, Newport Film Festival, 2002
Best Documentary Film Award, Nashville Film Festival, 2002
Best Documentary Film Award, Westchester Film Festival, 2002
Nomination, Distinguished Documentary Achievement, International Documentary Association, 2002
Gold Hugo Award, Best Documentary, Chicago International Film Festival, 2002
Documentary Directing Award, Sundance Film Festival, 2002.
Best Documentary, Nashville International Film Festival
Special Jury Prize, Newport Film Festival, 2002
Cleveland Film Festival, 2002
Montreal International Film Festival, 2002