Union County: An Authentic Portrait of Recovery and Community at Sundance 2026

Writer-director Adam Meeks premiered his film Union County on January 25, 2026, at the Eccles Theatre as part of the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition. The film, which blends scripted narrative with real-life testimonies from people in recovery, focuses on the opioid epidemic in central Ohio and the role of county-mandated drug court programs, according to sundance.org.

The production is an expansion of a short film of the same name that Meeks released in 2020. It stars Will Poulter as Cody, a man navigating a drug court program while attempting to reconnect with his foster brother, Jack, played by Noah Centineo. The narrative tracks Cody’s efforts to find employment and attend support meetings, while also depicting the cyclical nature of addiction through Cody’s eventual relapse, sundance.org reports.

Integration of Non-Actors and Real-Life Testimony

Meeks utilized a hybrid casting approach to ground the film’s depiction of recovery. While Poulter and Centineo play the lead roles, the individuals appearing in courtroom scenes and sober support meetings are actual people in recovery who were present during filming, according to Meeks during a post-premiere Q&A cited by sundance.org.

Meeks stated during the Q&A that the dialogue for these participants was not scripted. He explained that the professional actors remained in character in the room and would step to the podium only when called upon by the real-life participants.

Some specific community figures appear as versions of themselves. These include Judge Braig and therapist Annette Deao, whom Meeks described as the heart and soul of both the community and the film, according to sundance.org.

Inspiration and the Ohio Drug Court System

The film’s focus on hope and empathy stems from Meeks’ return to Ohio as an adult. He lived in central Ohio until age 6 and later learned from extended family how the opioid epidemic was impacting their loved ones, sundance.org reports.

Meeks’ perspective shifted after an uncle introduced him to a previous drug court judge who invited him to observe a meeting. Meeks told the Sundance audience that the experience provided a counternarrative to the bleak overdose statistics and tragedy typically associated with the crisis, describing the environment as full of humanity and empathy.

Annette Deao, who has worked in the field for 38 years and spent 22 of those in recovery courts, participated in the original short film before appearing in the feature. Deao noted during the Q&A that she found Meeks’ vision for the story of recovery to be sincere, according to sundance.org.

Performance and Production Approach

Will Poulter’s portrayal of Cody was informed by time spent with local residents before filming began. Poulter remarked during the post-premiere discussion that the welcoming nature of the community made the acting process easier.

Poulter noted a specific challenge in balancing his performance with the real-life participants, stating that the actual people in recovery often gave a better performance than the professional actors were able to provide, according to sundance.org.