Don't Drink the Holy Water: A Mother's Pilgrimage with Death & Destiny
Auburn, California | Film Short
Documentary, Nature
In 2022, over 100,000 people in the US died from drugs like fentanyl. One was my son. This film stresses how to support loved ones through crisis. Just like the Ganges River sustains life in the most polluted areas, we must support loved ones through harm reduction and trauma-informed care.
Don't Drink the Holy Water: A Mother's Pilgrimage with Death & Destiny
Auburn, California | Film Short
Documentary, Nature
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $18,043 for development. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
53 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
In 2022, over 100,000 people in the US died from drugs like fentanyl. One was my son. This film stresses how to support loved ones through crisis. Just like the Ganges River sustains life in the most polluted areas, we must support loved ones through harm reduction and trauma-informed care.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Ganges is a river of life and death and of prayers and pollution.
Over six hundred million people pray daily at the riverbanks and more make the journey to release the ashes of their loved ones. It's believed that offering the remains to Ma Ganga brings salvation for the dead. It's one of the most sacred rivers in the world---and it's also the most polluted.
In 2023, six months after Betsy Murphy's 27-year-old son Charlie dies of an overdose from fentanyl, she travels to India with his ashes. Before he died, the mother and son talked about taking the trip together to revisit places in India they visited when he was 8 years old. Instead, Betsy returns to India alone with a bag of his ashes and the intention to release the ashes into the sacred Ganges River, but no plan on how to do it.
Charlie Griswold (center) in Sikkim, India in 2003
Don't Drink the Holy Water uses the Ganges River as a backdrop for telling the story of stigma around overdoses and suicide. After Charlie Griswold dies alone in a Sacramento hotel room, his mother was shocked at how quick his case was closed, he was just another statistic of the fentanyl crisis in America. Betsy also experienced a lack of understanding from many who just saw Charlie as troubled, instead someone in pain, instead of someone who had experienced trauma and was doing his best to survive in a world that preaches tough love over empathy. In the moments he needed connection the most, Charlie was dehumanized by people who didn’t try to understand the depth of his trauma or how to support his healing. Before his death, Charlie worked hard to detox and make peace with the parts of his life that he wanted to numb. In his death, his mother is committed to helping him find the salvation he was reaching for during the last days of his life.
Betsy Murphy and her youngest son, Charlie Griswold
When Betsy returns to India with Charlie's ashes, the Ganges becomes a guide. Betsy decides to not go to the cleanest part of the Ganges high in the Himalayan mountains or to Varanasi, the most sacred place to release ashes. Instead, she follows the Ganges west and then south and then to Kolkata. There the river is the most fertile with prayers and it’s also the most polluted, but Betsy sees how the river still holds both life and death. The water has turned from sparking blue to muddy brown, but the river still sustains life for the four hundred million people who live near the riverbanks and depend on it for food, bathing, and crops. The river is dirty but flowers still bloom and float on it.
With the help of new friends Betsy meets in India, on a still dark night in a remote part of the Ganges, she offers Charlie's ashes to the river. A Hindu ceremony is hosted by locals who come together to support her wish and they release over 300 lanterns to honor Charlie and loved ones impacted by addiction. Betsy discovers that if the most polluted part of the Ganges is still considered holy, then any of us can remember we are holy too, even on our worst days—even dying alone in a hotel room like her son.
The story of Charlie's ashes is mixed with interviews on harm reduction; the fentanyl crisis and the importance of trauma-informed families; and, the future of a dying Ganges River that continues to sustain life.
Don't Drink the Holy Water is a story of death and destiny;
and, of salvation and survival, for both the river and for humans.
"I'm too smart to do a bad drug," Charlie Griswold in message to his mother three months before he died.
The outreach of the documentary begins in January 2024 with the release of a six episode podcast.
While we want to reach anyone who can benefit from Charlie's story, one of the primary audience's of podcasts in 2023 are males 18-35 which is also a demographic that is impacted by fentanyl deaths. People like Charlie are looking for information and answers and podcasts are a powerful way to inform and call in conversation. The podcast includes interviews with trauma-informed experts and therapists as well as messages from Charlie in the last months of his life. We continue to try and unlock his phone to try and determine who gave him the fentanyl-laced drugs. Will the podcast bring the answers?
We don't want to just make a film. We want to create social and environmental change.
The long-term impact campaign includes:
1. EDUCATION: Screenings at high schools, colleges, and community screenings with Q&A supported by trauma-informed therapists. Fentanyl kills twice as many people in the U.S. as gun violence.
2. MENTAL HEALTH: Harm reduction understanding and training for families so they can show up for loved ones in crisis. We are anti-tough love. We believe in connection and creating safe spaces for our loved ones to heal.
3. SUPPORT: Betsy is passionate about establishing an Overdose Liaison for local law enforcement. For instance, Charlie's death was ruled an accidental overdose and his case was closed without further investigation. If we had been able to get access to his cell phone records or video of entrance to hotel, we may have been able to determine who gave him the fentanyl-laced drugs. Right now local police forces are overwhelmed and not able to complete investigations. An Overdose Liaison would be a link between law enforcement and families needing answers so we can get the drugs and dealers off the streets. Accidental overdose from fentanyl-laced drugs is poisoning. It's murder--and the cases should be treated with care, not dismissed.
4. ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: For the well-being of the Ganges River and all bodies of water (including our own bodies which are made up of over 70% water).
5. HEALING: Healing retreats in 2024 and beyond to the Ganges River with Betsy Murphy.
STRETCH GOAL FOR SEED & SPARK CAMPAIGN
Once we reach our initial Development and Pre-Production Goal of $22,000, any additional donations are designated for the production and post-production of the documentary in 2024 with expected release date of November 2024. Total budget for the podcast and documentary short is $87,500.
TAX INFORMATION FOR YOUR DONATIONS
We are grateful to have From the Heart Productions, Inc. as a fiscal sponsor
From the Heart Productions, Inc. is honored to provide fiscal sponsorship for the film Don't Drink the Holy Water. We carefully select the films we sponsor, and believe that this project will make a positive contribution to society and to the field of filmmaking.
We have been successfully funding films since our inception in 1993 under the 501(c )(3) Internal Revenue Code of 1954. We are also classified as a public charity under section 509(a )(2) of the Code. As such, any monetary donations to our Fiscal Sponsorship Program qualify as charitable contributions under the U.S. Tax Code.
Our IRS number is 95 444 5418 and, as a donor, you may use this number on your taxes with the donated amount for a tax deduction.
From the Heart Productions will administer any funds received in support of this project. As fiscal sponsor for this film, we will be closely monitoring its progress. We will contribute advice and feedback where needed on fundraising initiatives, trailers, rough cuts, festival submissions, distribution, and outreach strategies.
To donate by check: Make checks payable to: From the Heart Productions, Inc. and put Don't Drink the Holy Water on the bottom line.
Email [email protected] for mailing address.
Charlie Griswold in Sikkim, India in 2003 (age 8)
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Podcast for Awareness During Development of Film
Costs $8,000
Twice as many people die each day in the US from drugs like fentanyl than from gun violence. Podcast brings attention while film is made.
Frequent Flyer Miles for Travel to and within India
Costs $1
Offset some of our production travel expenses to and within India by donating frequent flier miles. (Total travel expenses $9,000)
Websites, and Editors, and Support. Oh My!
Costs $7,000
This covers expenses while we develop the concept into a film. Anything over $15,000 goes to film production. Thank you!
Crew in India
Costs $7,000
Help us start hiring crew for the ten days of filming in India.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Betsy B. Murphy, Producer & Writer
Betsy Murphy is a writer, storyteller, and filmmaker committed to telling healing stories of hope and humanity. Betsy invites you into the challenging moments of being human so you can find the place of connection and compassion for yourself and others. Betsy's feature documentaries include New York in the Fifties, Something to Cheer About, and Althea & Angela. Betsy is the author of several popular books including, Grief Glimmers Grace, Write On: A Daily Writing Practice for Anyone with a Story to Tell and Autobiography of an Orgasm. Betsy’s solo shows have been performed on stages from California and Costa Rica to Bali and Australia. http://betsybmurphy.com/
Carole Dean, Advisor
A valued advisor on the project is Carole Dean of From the Heart Productions who awarded Betsy with an Excellence in Filmmaking award for her documentary, Something to Cheer About in 2002. Don't Drink the Holy Water has fiscal sponsorship through FTHP so your contributions are tax-deductible. FTHP is a top-rated 2023 non-profit (GreatNonProfits.org) and has awarded filmmakers more than $30,000,000 since 1993. https://fromtheheartproductions.com/
Carole Joyce, Advisor
As Vice-President of From the Heart Productions, Carole Joyce offers support for every phase of production from development to release. The initial consultant with Carole for Don't Drink the Holy Water allowed the project to expand into developing a powerful impact campaign. We are not just making a film, we are creating social and environmental change.
Chelo Alvarez-Stehle, Impact Campaign Advisor
Chelo received the "2022 Human Rights Award" granted by the Observatory for Human Rights of the Government of La Rioja for her life and professional career as a journalist, writer, filmmaker and activist in defense of human rights and women's rights; for the national and international projection of her fight against racism, sexual violence and trafficking; and for her continued work to contribute to guarantee human rights from culture and journalism.
Willie Griswold, Podcast Producer
Willie is a writer/storyteller and host of the podcast, Loose Toss. Wilie is a consultant for the Don't Drink the Holy Water podcast.
Michael Shutt, Story Consultant
Award-winning LA-based writer Michael Shutt is a Story Consultant for Don't Drink the Holy Water. More on Michael: https://www.alessoninswimming.com/
Courtney Allen-Gentry, Medical Advisor
Courtney Allen-Gentry, MSN RN PHN AHN-BC HWNC-BC, is an Advanced Holistic and Integrative Public Health Nurse Coach, Independent Cannabinoid Nurse Scholar, Thought Leader, Educator, Advocate and Author.
Gemini Adams, Trauma Recovery Specialist
Gemini Adams is a trauma-informed advisor we've invited to interview for the film. https://geminiadams.com/
Suzanne Guillette, Advisor
Suzie is the producer Moving, for You: A Tribute to Empathy, an improvisational movement piece created in homage to a collection of other people’s personal stories of grief and loss.
We will update this page as we continue to add to our global team. We will use mostly local crews in India for the two week production.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Ganges is a river of life and death and of prayers and pollution.
Over six hundred million people pray daily at the riverbanks and more make the journey to release the ashes of their loved ones. It's believed that offering the remains to Ma Ganga brings salvation for the dead. It's one of the most sacred rivers in the world---and it's also the most polluted.
In 2023, six months after Betsy Murphy's 27-year-old son Charlie dies of an overdose from fentanyl, she travels to India with his ashes. Before he died, the mother and son talked about taking the trip together to revisit places in India they visited when he was 8 years old. Instead, Betsy returns to India alone with a bag of his ashes and the intention to release the ashes into the sacred Ganges River, but no plan on how to do it.
Charlie Griswold (center) in Sikkim, India in 2003
Don't Drink the Holy Water uses the Ganges River as a backdrop for telling the story of stigma around overdoses and suicide. After Charlie Griswold dies alone in a Sacramento hotel room, his mother was shocked at how quick his case was closed, he was just another statistic of the fentanyl crisis in America. Betsy also experienced a lack of understanding from many who just saw Charlie as troubled, instead someone in pain, instead of someone who had experienced trauma and was doing his best to survive in a world that preaches tough love over empathy. In the moments he needed connection the most, Charlie was dehumanized by people who didn’t try to understand the depth of his trauma or how to support his healing. Before his death, Charlie worked hard to detox and make peace with the parts of his life that he wanted to numb. In his death, his mother is committed to helping him find the salvation he was reaching for during the last days of his life.
Betsy Murphy and her youngest son, Charlie Griswold
When Betsy returns to India with Charlie's ashes, the Ganges becomes a guide. Betsy decides to not go to the cleanest part of the Ganges high in the Himalayan mountains or to Varanasi, the most sacred place to release ashes. Instead, she follows the Ganges west and then south and then to Kolkata. There the river is the most fertile with prayers and it’s also the most polluted, but Betsy sees how the river still holds both life and death. The water has turned from sparking blue to muddy brown, but the river still sustains life for the four hundred million people who live near the riverbanks and depend on it for food, bathing, and crops. The river is dirty but flowers still bloom and float on it.
With the help of new friends Betsy meets in India, on a still dark night in a remote part of the Ganges, she offers Charlie's ashes to the river. A Hindu ceremony is hosted by locals who come together to support her wish and they release over 300 lanterns to honor Charlie and loved ones impacted by addiction. Betsy discovers that if the most polluted part of the Ganges is still considered holy, then any of us can remember we are holy too, even on our worst days—even dying alone in a hotel room like her son.
The story of Charlie's ashes is mixed with interviews on harm reduction; the fentanyl crisis and the importance of trauma-informed families; and, the future of a dying Ganges River that continues to sustain life.
Don't Drink the Holy Water is a story of death and destiny;
and, of salvation and survival, for both the river and for humans.
"I'm too smart to do a bad drug," Charlie Griswold in message to his mother three months before he died.
The outreach of the documentary begins in January 2024 with the release of a six episode podcast.
While we want to reach anyone who can benefit from Charlie's story, one of the primary audience's of podcasts in 2023 are males 18-35 which is also a demographic that is impacted by fentanyl deaths. People like Charlie are looking for information and answers and podcasts are a powerful way to inform and call in conversation. The podcast includes interviews with trauma-informed experts and therapists as well as messages from Charlie in the last months of his life. We continue to try and unlock his phone to try and determine who gave him the fentanyl-laced drugs. Will the podcast bring the answers?
We don't want to just make a film. We want to create social and environmental change.
The long-term impact campaign includes:
1. EDUCATION: Screenings at high schools, colleges, and community screenings with Q&A supported by trauma-informed therapists. Fentanyl kills twice as many people in the U.S. as gun violence.
2. MENTAL HEALTH: Harm reduction understanding and training for families so they can show up for loved ones in crisis. We are anti-tough love. We believe in connection and creating safe spaces for our loved ones to heal.
3. SUPPORT: Betsy is passionate about establishing an Overdose Liaison for local law enforcement. For instance, Charlie's death was ruled an accidental overdose and his case was closed without further investigation. If we had been able to get access to his cell phone records or video of entrance to hotel, we may have been able to determine who gave him the fentanyl-laced drugs. Right now local police forces are overwhelmed and not able to complete investigations. An Overdose Liaison would be a link between law enforcement and families needing answers so we can get the drugs and dealers off the streets. Accidental overdose from fentanyl-laced drugs is poisoning. It's murder--and the cases should be treated with care, not dismissed.
4. ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: For the well-being of the Ganges River and all bodies of water (including our own bodies which are made up of over 70% water).
5. HEALING: Healing retreats in 2024 and beyond to the Ganges River with Betsy Murphy.
STRETCH GOAL FOR SEED & SPARK CAMPAIGN
Once we reach our initial Development and Pre-Production Goal of $22,000, any additional donations are designated for the production and post-production of the documentary in 2024 with expected release date of November 2024. Total budget for the podcast and documentary short is $87,500.
TAX INFORMATION FOR YOUR DONATIONS
We are grateful to have From the Heart Productions, Inc. as a fiscal sponsor
From the Heart Productions, Inc. is honored to provide fiscal sponsorship for the film Don't Drink the Holy Water. We carefully select the films we sponsor, and believe that this project will make a positive contribution to society and to the field of filmmaking.
We have been successfully funding films since our inception in 1993 under the 501(c )(3) Internal Revenue Code of 1954. We are also classified as a public charity under section 509(a )(2) of the Code. As such, any monetary donations to our Fiscal Sponsorship Program qualify as charitable contributions under the U.S. Tax Code.
Our IRS number is 95 444 5418 and, as a donor, you may use this number on your taxes with the donated amount for a tax deduction.
From the Heart Productions will administer any funds received in support of this project. As fiscal sponsor for this film, we will be closely monitoring its progress. We will contribute advice and feedback where needed on fundraising initiatives, trailers, rough cuts, festival submissions, distribution, and outreach strategies.
To donate by check: Make checks payable to: From the Heart Productions, Inc. and put Don't Drink the Holy Water on the bottom line.
Email [email protected] for mailing address.
Charlie Griswold in Sikkim, India in 2003 (age 8)
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Podcast for Awareness During Development of Film
Costs $8,000
Twice as many people die each day in the US from drugs like fentanyl than from gun violence. Podcast brings attention while film is made.
Frequent Flyer Miles for Travel to and within India
Costs $1
Offset some of our production travel expenses to and within India by donating frequent flier miles. (Total travel expenses $9,000)
Websites, and Editors, and Support. Oh My!
Costs $7,000
This covers expenses while we develop the concept into a film. Anything over $15,000 goes to film production. Thank you!
Crew in India
Costs $7,000
Help us start hiring crew for the ten days of filming in India.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Betsy B. Murphy, Producer & Writer
Betsy Murphy is a writer, storyteller, and filmmaker committed to telling healing stories of hope and humanity. Betsy invites you into the challenging moments of being human so you can find the place of connection and compassion for yourself and others. Betsy's feature documentaries include New York in the Fifties, Something to Cheer About, and Althea & Angela. Betsy is the author of several popular books including, Grief Glimmers Grace, Write On: A Daily Writing Practice for Anyone with a Story to Tell and Autobiography of an Orgasm. Betsy’s solo shows have been performed on stages from California and Costa Rica to Bali and Australia. http://betsybmurphy.com/
Carole Dean, Advisor
A valued advisor on the project is Carole Dean of From the Heart Productions who awarded Betsy with an Excellence in Filmmaking award for her documentary, Something to Cheer About in 2002. Don't Drink the Holy Water has fiscal sponsorship through FTHP so your contributions are tax-deductible. FTHP is a top-rated 2023 non-profit (GreatNonProfits.org) and has awarded filmmakers more than $30,000,000 since 1993. https://fromtheheartproductions.com/
Carole Joyce, Advisor
As Vice-President of From the Heart Productions, Carole Joyce offers support for every phase of production from development to release. The initial consultant with Carole for Don't Drink the Holy Water allowed the project to expand into developing a powerful impact campaign. We are not just making a film, we are creating social and environmental change.
Chelo Alvarez-Stehle, Impact Campaign Advisor
Chelo received the "2022 Human Rights Award" granted by the Observatory for Human Rights of the Government of La Rioja for her life and professional career as a journalist, writer, filmmaker and activist in defense of human rights and women's rights; for the national and international projection of her fight against racism, sexual violence and trafficking; and for her continued work to contribute to guarantee human rights from culture and journalism.
Willie Griswold, Podcast Producer
Willie is a writer/storyteller and host of the podcast, Loose Toss. Wilie is a consultant for the Don't Drink the Holy Water podcast.
Michael Shutt, Story Consultant
Award-winning LA-based writer Michael Shutt is a Story Consultant for Don't Drink the Holy Water. More on Michael: https://www.alessoninswimming.com/
Courtney Allen-Gentry, Medical Advisor
Courtney Allen-Gentry, MSN RN PHN AHN-BC HWNC-BC, is an Advanced Holistic and Integrative Public Health Nurse Coach, Independent Cannabinoid Nurse Scholar, Thought Leader, Educator, Advocate and Author.
Gemini Adams, Trauma Recovery Specialist
Gemini Adams is a trauma-informed advisor we've invited to interview for the film. https://geminiadams.com/
Suzanne Guillette, Advisor
Suzie is the producer Moving, for You: A Tribute to Empathy, an improvisational movement piece created in homage to a collection of other people’s personal stories of grief and loss.
We will update this page as we continue to add to our global team. We will use mostly local crews in India for the two week production.