Stage In Development
Genre documentary, drama
A short documentary about the last independent pharmacy in a rural Ohio town — and the pharmacist who has been quietly covering prescriptions for patients who can't afford them for eleven years.
DALE BURKHART, 63, has run Burkhart Pharmacy in Caldwell, Ohio for thirty-one years. The town's hospital closed in 2019. The nearest chain pharmacy is 40 miles away. For eleven years, Dale has maintained a private ledger of covered prescriptions — insulin, blood pressure medication, psychiatric drugs — for patients who cannot pay. He has never told anyone except his wife. The film follows Dale over the course of one month as a national chain pharmacy makes its fourth acquisition offer, the town's remaining doctor retires, and a 19-year-old named Jess — who grew up on Dale's charity and doesn't know it — starts her shift as his new assistant. THE CORNER PHARMACY is a 28-minute documentary being produced with a crew of three. No distributor needed; this film is going straight to festival, then free online.
Director Joel Tanner
Producer Joel Tanner
Writer Joel Tanner