Bergen Native's Film Tells Of Heroin Use Through 7-Yr.-Old's Eyes

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Layla has seen a lot regarding the effect heroin can have on someone. She has seen five of her family members become addicted to the substance. She is only 9.

Ken Spooner, a River Vale native, recently wrapped filming on his documentary "Life With Layla." The film chronicles three years a little girl's life while most her family struggles with substance abuse.

Spooner began filming the documentary when Layla was just 6. The film shows what heroin addiction can do to a family when five members, Layla's aunt, two uncles, and her grandparents start using heroin.

"The story didn't start with Layla. We sat her down in front of the camera for fun and just started talking with her," Spooner said. "We don't focus on her age in the story. It's more of a family story, but that story is good from her point of view."

Spooner and his team focused on the fact that when someone becomes addicted to heroin, it does not just affect the user.

Two of Spooner's friends died of heroin overdoses in 2014.

"I didn't start the project to cope with the losses," Spooner said. "I wanted to make a film that made a difference."

The film recently won the New Jersey Films Award at the Montclair Film Festival in May. Spooner and Mee are trying to sell the movie to a television network or streaming service.

"It's about heroin addiction and how it's not just about one person, it's about how it trickles down and affects everyone around them," Spooner said. "We had tremendous access to these people over the course of the three years we filmed. It was an eye-opening experience."

Spooner's co-director Mike Mee agreed.

"They're mothers and brothers, sons and daughters," said Mee, a Pequannock native. "We wanted to show that drug use affects an entire family and that there are families struggling with it across the country."

"Life With Layla" will be screened at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. The school's student newspaper, The Smoke Signal, is sponsoring the screening.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com