
Through a Blue Lens
This award-winning documentary film, shot in Vancouver, Canada’s notorious Downtown Eastside, caught the eyes of audiences, film makers and critics world wide for its unusual and sensitive depiction of life on the street.
Through A Blue Lens documents a year of life and death on the street and behind tenement walls.
The striking thing about the film is not the horror of drug abuse but the story of how the interaction between the police and the drug addicts, with the camera as a catalyst, actually changed the people involved. The cops became more sympathetic to the people on the street and the drug addicts, in having friendship extended to them by the police and film makers, developed self esteem and, in some cases, actually cleaned up.
Released in 1999. 53 min. Director: Veronica Alice Mannix. Documentary film.
Probably can convince some kid to dont do hard drugs.
Bleak, beautiful; poetry.
Thanks for this one!
I found out that there is a follow up to this one 10 years later called Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens. Unfortunately I can’t seem to locate it online. Perhaps you guys will find it and post it on your site if you can locate it. Cheers!
Thanks for the heads up on the follow up, I wasn’t aware of it!
Tears for April: Happy Tears (Follow Up)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG6jVDUTlD4
Thanks for that one Justen, but there is a full length follow up called; Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens. Just can’t seem to find it anywhere other than the trailer for it.
When you do find it, let us know… I’m looking for it too..
The movie is for sale for $50..
I am willing to donate $12,50
we need three more people, and the we can post it here.
It’s so well done. I work as a paramedic downtown in a large city and still, we treat addiction as a behavior or disorder of one’s personality. We cannot address the problem until we treat addiction as a true medical condition. The stone age man found in preserved condition in the italian alps had the genome for heart disease dispelling the myth that heart disease is a modern condition. The same applies to addiction. Some people are genectically more prone to respond to these chemicals be it cocaine, heroine, or alcohol, than others. The interaction of these substances and their corresponding receptors at the cellular level produces effects that cause rapid addiction and dependance. We need to stop jailing and persecuting but instead treating and preventing in a proactive way.
this was a great documentary i was really surprised especially since it was done by the police. it was def something that should be shown to children. i love the old lady asking for a new dress cause she has not had one i just wish i could agree w the policeman who says eventually drugs will be uncool truth is people have always used them and will continue to do so until the end of time all we can do is try to teach our children not to do them and that starts with us being clean i am now in my 1st true year of recovery and all i can say is im blessed that the children in my life will never know me as a drug addict
Thanks for the movie it shows people out there what could happen to them if they put there gaurd down thanks again
thank you so much for this u have no idea how much this video has changed my life today am a 18 year old girl in ireland and i have been smoking weed since i was 15 and now ive moved to taking e but because of this video am going to stop am not going to smoke weed anymore or take anyother drugs ive been wanting to try acide but thats not going to happen either drugs are horrible and a wast of time i feel sorry for people like this and i dont want to end up like one of them i dont need o take drugs cause am bored lonely or just for fun thank you sooo much for this i cant even write right now cause am still in shock but thank you ..thank you