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REEL MADNESS Film Festival Films and Discussions about mental illness and recovery Our Films Our Stories

24 February to 10 March 2003

7:00 Monday 24 Feb 2003 From Grief to Action Canada, 58 min., 2002, Director Nijole Kuzmickas What would you do if your child became addicted to heroin? Susie and Rob Ruttan never dreamed that heroin would be a problem they’d have to deal with. They live in the tranquil neighbourhood of Kerrisdale in Vancouver and are founding members of a group called From Grief to Action. This documentary chronicles the lives of the Ruttans and three other families who are coping with the fact that their children became “junkies”. The documentary, directed by Vancouver filmmaker Nijole Kuzmickas, shatters the stereotype that “drug addicts” come from backgrounds of poverty, abuse and abandonment. Pg13. (bring your kid) more ... Special guests will be Susie Ruttan and Ray Hall, two of the parents featured in the film and founding members of the From Grief to Action Society. Carolyn Showler. Carolyn is a Registered Nurse who has experience working as a volunteer in the local needle exchange program. She has worked in Victoria's Street Outreach Nurse program as well as in both local Correctional facilities. She is presently working at Victoria's 'inner city' Cool Aid Community Health Clinic. Added Short: Nanaimo Station 2002, 3.5min, Canada A short video poem, from the feature length collection of experimental film poems called Trains of Winnipeg by Clive Holden. Nanaimo born, Winnipeg based and Reel Madness favourite, Clive Holden has brought many of his films to our fests including Gordon’s Head, Hitler! and 18,000 Dead in Gordon Head. All of these films reflect on his years growing up on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo Station takes us to the beginning with recurring images of Clive taking his first steps, the steps that will lead him from innocence to reality and in a more global sense, reflects our world’s loss of innocence. The poem reads; “I was born in nanaimo two blocks from the station, my family was perfect then, no one was sick…”.

7:00 Friday 28 Feb 2003 Standup Samurais 45 min, Canada, 2001

A documentary about the "farm team" comedians that play the small town circuit in Western Canada. Picture a Seinfeld-in-an-'85-Hyundi-heading-for-a-$75-gig-in-Fort St. John or Alert Bay. With the help of Nelson Giles, one of the featured comedians andRic Beairsto, the film’s writer and producer, we'll look at the connection between mental health and comedy. It's a sparky and delicate balance. Also, Big Daddy Tazz will be calling in from somewhere ‘on the road’) Warning: Coarse language PG 13more ...

Saturday 1 Mar 2003 Noon - 2pm Making Fix: Challenges and ethics of filmmaking on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside A Seminar with filmmaker Nettie Wild and advocate Dean Wilson. Here's a chance to grasp the challenges that both filmmaker and subjects face when trying to tell a contentious story like this one. Activist and drug user Dean Wilson and filmmaker Nettie Wild both played key roles in the making of the documentary film, FIX: The Story of an Addicted City. They will tell of their experiences on both sides of the camera during the making of this controversial documentary which some say helped influence Canada's first ‘drug election‘. Nettie shot FIX on a PD150 digital camera over a period of 18 months. Now FIX is being distributed on 35mm in cinemas across Canada. They will interweave the story of the making of the film with the extraordinary human drama behind the birth of the social movement it documents. Nettie Wild's not new to this scenario, her award winning films, A PLACE CALLED CHIAPAS (1998) and A RUSTLING OF LEAVES: INSIDE THE PHILLIPPINE REVOLUTION (1989), have taken her on similar journeys. The film FIX : The Story of an Addicted City will be presented on Monday, March 3rd at the Reel Madness Film Festival and also opens at the Odeon on February 28th. Read more about Nettie Wild Cost $7.00 ($5 for MediaNet members)

7:00 Saturday 1 Mar 2003 rollercoaster 90 min, Canada, 1999, Scott Smith ­ writer/director/producer This brilliant film by Scott Smith takes us into Vancouver’s deserted PNE grounds with a group of five teenagers in pursuit of fantasy and escape. Through compelling characters the film explores issues of teenage sexuality, abuse, and suicide. Perhaps the film is mostly about friendship, love and survival. All of this is conveyed through spectacular camerawork and a cool soundtrack. You may never be able to watch another cute Hollywood “coming-of age” film again! R (Strong subject material and language) Director and screenwriter Scott Smith will be with us for a Q&A this evening as well as a day-long workshop on Sunday. Stars: Kett Turton, Crystal Bublé, Brendan Fletcher, Brent Glenen, Sean Amsing, David Lovgren

10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday 2 Mar 2003 Filmmaker Seminar with Scott Smith Join featured filmmaker Scott Smith, the day after the festival presentation of his feature film, rollercoaster. Scott is a now in postproduction of his $4 million feature project, an adaptation of Barbara Gowdy's novel Falling Angels. We'll see clips, hear the background stories, and glean directing tips from one of Canada's brightest young filmmakers. The workshop includes a morning discussion on the role of the director, 'from micro to macro' that will include Scott’s experiences on rollercoaster. After lunch, Scott will show scenes from Falling Angels with discussions on staging, working with actors, and the editing process. Read more about Scott Smith.

7:00 Monday 3 Mar 2003 Fix: The Story of an Addicted City Canada, 2002, 92 min., Directed by Nettie Wild Nettie Wild's powerful feature documentary about the Vancouver Downtown Eastside has much for Victoria to consider as our city faces losing "The War On Drugs". Five characters; an addict, an activist, a businessman, a mayor and a cop on the most discouraging beat in Canada all struggle with the issue of opening a safe injection site. The stories of FIX span over two years as our characters’ lives interconnect to reveal a battle for the hearts, minds and streets of a city each one calls home. Warning: scenes of drug use. Pg13 more ... Joining us will be Dean Wilson, who is featured in the film and described as “possibly the most outspoken drug addict in Canada” and president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and Gordon Harper, a local activist and advocate for people who face the challenges of addictions. Director Nettie Wild and Dean Wilson also conducted a workshop on Saturday, 1 March.

	7:00 Monday 10 Mar 2003 Remembrance 19 min., Canada
	Remembrance a new Genie nominated period piece based on a true story about a man with a special talent for remembering, a glimpse into a pivotal moment in his life by Stephanie Morgenstern. Pg 13 more ...

also Life's a Twitch 30 min., Canada, 2002 He barks, spits and shakes. He can’t help it. He’s also witty, funny, and brilliant. Life’s A Twitch is the extraordinary story of Duncan McKinlay and the power of being different. Tourettes Syndrome is not a mental illness, but we’ve included it in our festival as there is much to learn from this powerful and entertaining story about being considered “nuts” as a child, a delinquent as a youth, to now fulfilling the dream of receiving a PhD. The film is a quirky ride into Duncan’s world and his boisterous campaign to educate about the condition. Twitch is a film that beautifully fits it's subject. ...more and even more Duncan will be joining us by telephone, from Ontario, as well as a local guest.