Fentanyl High

Fentanyl High is a documentary for the high school communities of the Bay Area, researched and directed by Kyle Santoro, a Bay Area high school junior committed to telling the truth to his peers and their families about Fentanyl poisoning. Shot from the perspective and experiences of high school students in Santa Clara County, Fentanyl High is a documentary film about Fentanyl poisoning that explores the brain chemistry behind why Fentanyl kills and the cartel to social media to Smartphones pipeline.

The film also explores how teens are dealing with their emotional pain with peers and at home, the high school party culture, how they have gotten to the point where they have decided to buy what they mistakenly think are Adderall, OxyContin, Percocet or Xanax from a stranger on social media, and what needs to change in the community, at school, and at home to save lives

  • Kyle Santoro
    Director
  • Ed Ternan
    Producer
  • Kevin Buchanan
    Producer
  • Kyle Santoro
    Producer
  • LC2 PRODUCTIONS
    Production Company
  • Katy Hawk
    Key Cast
  • Matt Gladney
    Key Cast
  • Joe Lonergan
    Key Cast
  • Allison Dunduland
    Key Cast
  • Kaylee Margone
    Inteviewees
  • Brennan Mullin
    Inteviewees
  • Jan Blom
    Inteviewees
  • Marico Sayoc
    Inteviewees
  • Supervisor Joe Simitian
    Inteviewees
  • Rachel Sussman
    Inteviewees
  • John Delgado-Tostado
    Inteviewees
  • Tristen Hensley
    Inteviewees
  • Landon Heard
    Inteviewees
  • Tanya Goel
    Inteviewees
  • Jack Temple
    Inteviewees
  • Leo Cocchiglia
    Supporting Actors
  • Victor Dalesio
    Supporting Actors
  • Arman Dehkordi
    Supporting Actors
  • Julian Fathi
    Supporting Actors
  • Sean Iversenn
    Supporting Actors
  • Adele Leblanc
    Supporting Actors
  • Ryan Lin
    Supporting Actors
  • Kaylee Margone
    Supporting Actors
  • Dallas Pina
    Supporting Actors
  • LC2 Productions
    Funders & Sponsors
  • Song For Charlie
    Funders & Sponsors
  • Los Gatos High School
    Funders & Sponsors
  • Boys Team Charity
    Funders & Sponsors
  • LGSUHD
    Funders & Sponsors
  • California Gov
    Funders & Sponsors
  • Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District
    Community Partners
  • County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors
    Community Partners
  • Song for Charlie
    Community Partners
  • Santa Clara County Opioid Overdose Prevention Project
    Community Partners
  • Santa Clara County Fire Department
    Community Partners
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Social Justice, Drama, Educational, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    40,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Los Gatos High School
Distribution Information
  • LC2 Productions
    Distributor
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
  • Song For Charlie
    Distributor
    Country: United States
Director Biography - Kyle Santoro

A senior at Los Gatos High School, Kyle is a creative imagemaker from the Bay Area. Growing up in Taiwan in a family of artists, with a dad who was a stage director and world music producer, he saw large scale global music productions from the other side, backstage in the wings of stages in San Francisco, Taiwan, and China. As a biracial teen, Kyle already sees and embodies two completely different worlds – one in English, the other in Chinese. “I see things neither side sees,” he admits. “Both sides really do not cross, but I do cross because I grew up in Taiwan and the US. And that’s what I want to share with the world -- these fascinating insider stories.” Kyle uses filmmaking to tie together “worlds” that often do not cross, putting raw energy that viewers can feel into his shots.
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Kyle’s passion for filmmaking ignited in July 2021 when he filmed a 2 minute short about the homeless on the back streets and hidden alleys of San Francisco. “I loved how I was showing the little known perspectives,” he said, “the parts that people often ignore and try to stay away from because they are afraid to solve that problem.” Within months, he was getting calls to shoot and edit sports reels for high school and collegiate athletes and sports tournaments all over the Bay Area, from football, basketball, volleyball to lacrosse, field hockey, water polo, swimming and baseball.

By mid-sophomore year, Kyle started his own film production company, LC2 Productions. Since then, Kyle has been commissioned to shoot the “MOSAIC DEI Curriculum Series” for the entire student body designed by LGHS teachers for his high school, the annual LGHS Lip Dub music video, PSAs for local nonprofits like AWO’s “Stories in Schools”, Santa Clara County Fire Department’s “Do Your Part”, Polynesian high school football linemen, and a baseball film short about San Jose migrant youth.

He is currently working on a “Fentanyl High” documentary and an eBike Safety Campaign video for the Los Gatos Police Department and Town of Los Gatos. Interacting with so many different kinds of people, including the diverse communities here in South Bay, now makes him fascinated by cultural anthropology, a field he hopes to study in college.

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