Through a Blue Lens

Through a Blue Lens (1999) is a documentary film shot in Vancouver's downtown east side.
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada
Directed by Veronica Alice Mannix
Producer: Gillian Darling Kovanic
Director of Photography: Daniel C. Mannix
Editor: Shelly Hamer
52 minutes

Production

Through a Blue Lens was produced by the National Film Board of Canada and was directed by Veronica Mannix. The film follows interactions between police officers and drug addicts and documents the extreme poverty and suffering many addicts endure.

Description

This award-winning documentary film, shot in Vancouver, Canada’s notorious downtown east side, caught the eyes of audiences, film makers and critics world wide for its unusual and sensitive depiction of life on the street.

The film is the second of two from the Mannix & Mannix team about social problems in the poorest part of Canada's third largest city. The previous film, Down Here, was ostensibly about social activist Bud Osborn and his attempts to secure better living conditions for the residents, many of whom were street people, in Vancouver. It was in the making of Down Here that the Mannix's met the Vanouver police officers who were, themselves, photographing the lives of drug addicts on the streets.

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.

This documentary was made during the height of the then unpublished scandal of the missing women in downtown Vancouver. At least one of the women who appears on camera was later identified as one of the victims.

Awards

Japan Prize (2000)(Tokyo) Category: Adult Education winner & Overall winner all categories
Chris Award (2000) (Columbus, Ohio) Category: Social Issues
Reel 2 Real International Film Festival (2000)(Vancouver): Award for Most Inspirational Short film or Video - given by the Youth Jury

Filmmaker's Comment

While the Mannix team was filming their previous documentary, Down Here, they met two officers who had something to say about the gentrification of the Downtown Eastside. The officers had been using still cameras to document many of the circumstances people suffered and took these images to local schools to educate youth. The Mannix’s were asked by the officers to teach them to use a video camera, so they started by teaching camera handling, camera ethics and power relationships. Following videotaping, the officers would leave the video tapes with Veronica Mannix for screening and comments. Her comments would include direction on follow-up with specific participants. It was during this time that Veronica's vision formed of the relationship of these two unlikely groups of people coming together to try to make a difference. She pitched the story and the National Film Board supported her vision. Veronica used 20 minutes of the officers 100 hours of videotape; the remainder of the footage was shot by Daniel Mannix as directed by Veronica. Through a Blue Lens started out with seven police officers and nineteen drug users. The final participants included four officers and six drug users.

Related Film

Flipping the World - Drugs Through a Blue Lens (2000) (30 min)
Directed by Moira Simpson
Produced for the NFB by Gillian Darling Kovanic & George Johnson

External links

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