Life and Death in the Year 2000

In Autumn 2000, 19-year-old nursing student Rachel is forced to transfer to the University of Pittsburgh when her family relocates from Indianapolis. To make new friends, Rachel reconnects with her long-lost cousin Ryan, an 18-year-old slacker who introduces her to the drug-fueled Y2K rave scene just a few blocks from Rachel's dorm room.

At the EDM club, Rachel is befriended by Jessica, a 21-year-old dealer in a woodland fairy costume who dispenses ecstasy tablets from a star-shaped magic wand. She also meets Ryan's hateful, straight-laced girlfriend Vanessa—who happens to be a fellow Pitt nursing student—and his best friend Brandon, who spills that Vanessa is cheating on Ryan with another woman. Meanwhile, Rachel's GPA is threatened by her struggles with organic chemistry. Is MDMA the answer to Rachel's understanding?

An angsty coming-of-age STEM drama about the secrets we try to keep and the truths we desperately want to ignore. This bittersweet, character-driven tragedy captures the dark side of the not-so-simple life before smartphones and social media, presenting a devastating portrait of underground obsession that lingers long after the sun comes up and the music stops.