HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Tampa father made a film about losing his 26-year-old daughter to addiction.
The film, "One Second at a Time: Battling the Monster of Addiction," premiers next Monday at the Tampa Theatre.
Michael Ortoll said his daughter, Christine, died in November of 2020 after overdosing on fentanyl.
"Fentanyl is the most evil thing out there. It's in everything. It's the leading cause of death between 18-45-year-olds. It's not just pills; it's in powder and vape," said Ortoll.
Christine battled substance abuse for nearly a decade. She went to more than 20 recovery centers. She achieved sobriety for three years before a final relapse.
"The final relapse was horrific. She wrecked her car, sold it for heroin — $15,000 she got for a car and started dealing to support her habit," he said.
Ortoll founded the Christine Ortoll Charity in 2021 in memory of his daughter. He hopes to educate and inspire others to take control of their own lives.
The family said Christine first started to struggle after her parents got a divorce.
"I would have never imagined the trauma that was going on inside and then we got a glimpse of it in high school. It went from pot to painkillers to opiates by her senior year," said Ortoll.
Ortoll said during the last year of his daughter's life; she was the victim of sex trafficking.
"On the outside, you would never know...happy, beautiful, go-lucky, funny, charming, helped everybody," he said.
In a teaser for the film, Ortoll visited the Fairy Pools in Scotland, a place his daughter always wanted to travel to with her father.
"I needed to keep that promise. We did it in mid-November of last year, so just two years after she passed. I felt so connected with her. I feel so connected with her on this project."
The film is told through the words of Christine's journals with the help of her father, loved ones, and professionals.
"The perfect metaphor was a monster. This is a monster. My daughter was the most beautiful, humane being you'd ever want to meet."
"I loved her more than anything. I hated her disease," said Ortoll.
The film premiers on Monday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the Tampa Theatre.
For more information on the film, click here.
For more information on the Christine Ortoll Charity or to donate, click here.
