Damaged

Director - Dana Kippel

Dana is a Director, Writer, Actor, and Producer living in Los Angeles, CA. Her award-winning feature Reflect is currently on Apple TV and Amazon Prime, distributed by Good Deed Entertainment. She is a member of the non-profit Film Fatales and has donated her time to the organization Kids in The Spotlight (KITS).

Dana is an avid advocate for Neurodivergence and Mental Health awareness. She infuses her metaphysical beliefs into every film she makes. She loves anything about futurism, mythology, philosophy, poetry, speculative fiction, and ancient language.

Her mission is to use the medium of film and books to inspire people to look inside themselves, realize their true power, and enhance their curiosity, connection, and self-love.

Her artistic style is Picturesque, Naturalistic, Whimsical, and Metaphysical. Each moment carries a whisper of magic.

Dana brings her struggles with addiction, mental health, and self-love into the stories she tells.

Director Statement

85% of addicts relapse within the first year. More people are feeling lonelier than ever before. The aftercare system of addiction treatment is broken. Something needs to change. This video offers no solutions but an opportunity to spark a conversation about addiction, relapse, and resources.

I felt the need to tell this story. I was craving to tell a story with depth. Something personal but also universal. The struggle for connection.

Although I am in a different phase of my life now, I always look back on this time with confused nostalgia. It was the worst time of my life, but there were also so many little magical moments and firsts sprinkled in.

I pulled this story from my own experiences with addiction when I was around twenty. I was not only away from home for the first time and struggling to grow up and "adult" but earnestly attempting to stay sober. I had no tools, minimal mental support, and no awareness of what was really causing my issues in the first place.

My hope for people watching this is to realize they are not alone in their confusing struggle with addiction and that I understand them. I also made this for those who have a loved one who struggles with addiction to gain compassion for this mysterious disease.