A man in recovery plays basketball as an outlet to help him stay sober. A musician turns to drinking to cope with his mother's cancer diagnosis. A teacher faces a moral dilemma: Should she punish a student caught cheating, knowing the student comes from an abusive home? These are The North E nd Stories, a trilogy of short films set in Burlington's Old and New North Ends, inspired by the real struggles of people with whom filmmaker Adam Benay grew up in Vermont. At Cinema for Change — a free event on Wednesday, March 26, at Main Street Landing's Film House in Burlington — Benay will screen the short films and participate in a discussion with several leaders of local recovery and social services organizations. Benay, who splits his time between Brooklyn and his hometown of Fairfax, started producing the films after graduating from Middlebury College in 2014 with a degree in film and media culture. The 33-year-old hopes that, by presenting stories that are both uplifting and realistic, the event will foster empathy for those battling addiction. "People put such a stigma on addiction, as though we all can't relate," Benay said. "Just because someone has never shot heroin doesn't mean that someone has not said, 'Gosh, it's hard to just drink one tonight.'" The first film, "Pomeroy," intersperses scenes of the main character, Trevor, attending therapy with clips of him playing basketball at Pomeroy Park. Trevor, played by Middlebury College grad Luke Smith-Stevens, is participating in a program that allows him to avoid jail time by staying clean. Benay said he based the plot on a 2016 Wall Street Journal article about a Vermont program that sends low-level offenders with drug addictions to treatment instead of prison. The article focused on program enrollee Todd Popovitch, who had been a standout high school basketball player before he began using heroin. Benay, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, said he drew on his many years in therapy to write authentic dialogue between the protagonist and his psychiatrist. "I'm finally being, like, not a piece of shit," Trevor says during his appointment, drawing a laugh. The film resonated with Cameron Lauf, executive director of Turning Point Center of Chittenden County, which offers coaching and support groups for people in recovery. Lauf played basketball in college and dreamed of going pro, but a heroin addiction derailed those plans. He sought treatment in… ...read more read less