Yesterday we highlighted Haven, a short film being fetured at our 2nd International Strasburg Film Festivial. Now we’re going to look further into this film and review a personal essay that its director submitted about making this short documentary. It will be played during our Sat, Nov 16th, 5:15 PM @ Town of Strasburg. Now let’s look at a personal essay that Colin Askey submitted to us about making her film.
Synopsis
Synopsis
I began working in 2011 as a freelance videographer for harm reduction and anti-poverty organizations in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
I learned about the history of the area, the resilience of the community, and the struggle to create innovative and welcoming spaces for the city’s most marginalized population, such as InSite, North America’s first medically-supervised injection site and SALOME (the Study to Access Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness at the Crosstown Clinic), which became North America’s first opioid assisted therapy program.
Through my extensive work in the neighborhood, I developed deep bonds and trust within the community, which allowed me to film with people and in places where cameras normally weren’t allowed, due in no small part to the generally exploitative framing of the community by the media.
These relationships, allowed me to meet Lynda and Max and follow them and some of their fellow participants during their most intimate moments inside the Crosstown Clinic.
It is my hope that “Haven” will resonate with audiences and show us how places like the Crosstown Clinic are saving and improving lives while thousands die needlessly in the ongoing overdose epidemic.
