Pick Up Stick

PICK UP STICK is a short film that follows sixteen-year-old, MIKEY, the day after he’s been released from the ICU following a diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare nervous disorder that has left him unable to walk without the assistance of a cane or wheelchair. While Mikey’s friends, family and caregivers do their best to support him, ultimately, it’s up to Mikey to take the first steps towards recovery.

  • Joey Poach
    Director
    The Polka King, Visible: Out On Television, Hacksaw Ridge
  • Joey Poach
    Writer
    The Polka King, Visible: Out On Television, Hacksaw Ridge
  • Michael A Fry
    Producer
    La La Land, Miss Stevens
  • Declan O'Connor
    Key Cast
    "Mikey"
  • Maurice Hall
    Key Cast
    "Robert"
    Young Sheldon, True Story
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Comedy, Coming-Of-Age
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 15, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • River Run International Film Festival
    Winston Salem
    United States
    North American Premiere
  • Palm Beach International Film Festival
    West Palm Beach
Director Biography - Joey Poach

Joey is a professional screenwriter and producer who has been working in the film industry for over ten years. He’s worked in post-production, talent management and creative development. Joey specializes in telling human stories with relatable characters and has had screenplays optioned by a number of well known production companies.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Joey served as the Associate Producer on the Netflix Original film, THE POLKA KING starring Jack Black which premiered at Sundance in 2016. He was also Associate Producer on the Apple TV+ original docu-series, VISIBLE: OUT ON TELEVISION. Joey also served as Assistant to the Producer on the Academy Award nominated HACKSAW RIDGE.

In 2017, Joey was featured as one of “Hollywood’s 100 top new writers” on Tracking-Board.Com's ‘Young & Hungry List’. Joey is currently repped by UTA and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment.

In 2006, Joey was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. While he’s now able to live a mostly normal life, Joey is still considerably weaker on his left side and finds himself limping when he’s tired. He lives with a less than 10% chance of relapse.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In 2006, at the age of sixteen, I experienced a variant of Guillain-Barre Syndrome known as Miller-Fisher Syndrome. By the time I was released from the pediatric ICU after a seven day stay, I was unable to walk unassisted and suffered a sixth nerve palsy, a paralysis that partially paralyzed my left eye.

With the help of my family, friends and physical therapy, I regained the ability to walk over the course of six months and I now consider myself to have made a “full recovery.”

I used this unique experience with GBS and my personal POV into attempting to recover from a debilitating disability to create an honest, comedic and heart-warming short film that addresses not only what it's like to deal with the uncertainty of a rare nervous disease but also deals with finding strength within one's self to keep going no matter how unsure the path ahead may appear to be.