One Time: Angelita Able Turns Grief Into Art To Confront The Fentanyl Crisis

When Atlanta filmmaker Angelita Able first sat down to write her debut film, she wasn’t thinking about Hollywood or red carpets. She was thinking about the families; families torn apart by a crisis that’s stealing lives in silence. The fentanyl epidemic isn’t just a statistic to her. It’s the quiet heartbreak she’s seen ripple through communities, leaving too many questions and too few voices speaking truth to it.

That silence is what birthed One Time.

The film follows a group of young adults whose lives change forever after one risky decision leads to tragedy. It’s a story we’ve heard too often in headlines, but Angelita refuses to reduce it to numbers. Instead, she asks us to sit in the living rooms, feel the absence at the dinner tables, and witness the ripple effects on families and friendships. One Time is a mirror, held up to remind us what’s at stake.

“I wanted to make something that gives people permission to talk about what they’ve been holding in,” Angelita says. “Too many are grieving in silence. This is for them.”

But Angelita’s vision goes beyond the screen. Alongside the film’s release, she’s launching grief support tools: a companion eBook One Time Too Many and a family journal to guide those navigating loss. She’s planning screenings that don’t end with credits but with conversations: community forums, classrooms, church basements, and living rooms where healing can begin.

It’s ambitious, but then again, Angelita is not your typical first-time filmmaker. She is equal parts artist and advocate, blending storytelling with social impact. She knows film alone won’t solve the fentanyl crisis, but she believes stories can spark the awareness, empathy, and dialogue that lead to action.

One Time premieres this fall in Atlanta, but Angelita’s hope is that it travels far beyond city lines. “This isn’t about tragedy alone,” she says. “It’s about saving lives, starting conversations, and letting people know they’re not alone.”

In a world drowning in distraction, Angelita is daring us to pause, look closer, and feel. Because sometimes one story, told at the right time, can change everything.

For more, visit onetimefilm.com or follow @OneTimeTheFilm.