Through
a Blue Lens features the Odd Squad & a unique group
of police officers who use video in their outreach work.
"an
absorbing NFB documentary"
John Allemang, Globe and Mail
The
response to Through a Blue Lens has been unparalleled.
The
Odd Squad was founded when Constable Toby Hinton realized
that photos and videos taken by his partner Al Arsenault
could be a powerful tool in teaching drug prevention
in schools. Together with five fellow officers, they
bought a video camera, formed a nonprofit production
society and started documenting their experience on
the beat.
Provocative
and unflinching, Through a Blue Lens charts the growing
trust between the cops and six street people, exploring
the complex way in which addiction problems are compounded
by poverty and homelessness. The film underscores how
the police are shifting from strict law enforcement
to an approach which sees the addicts as people needing
help rather than criminals.
What
emerges is a series of humane and detailed portraits.
There’s 40-year-old Nikki, bright and funny, addicted
to cocaine since she was a teenager. And Randy, a onetime
NHL hopeful, struggling to stay clean after over a decade
lost to drugs. And 28-year-old Carlee, who has repeatedly
torn open her arm while in the throes of terrifying
drug-induced hallucinations.
Filmmaker
Veronica Mannix spent two years working with the Odd
Squad and incorporated their footage into Through a
Blue Lens. The result is as compassionate as it is shocking.
Duration:
52 minutes
1999
Production of The National Film Board of Canada
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