WILD OFFERS FIX FOR THE ADDICTED AND THE COMMUNITY

Although Nettie Wild's film, Fix - The Story of an Addicted City, may sound
like it's about a drug problem far removed from northern B.C., she wants to
assure us that it is not.

"When you go into [Vancouver's] downtown eastside and talk to people, the
majority are from small towns like Hazelton, Smithers, Gitanyow or the
Nass," said acclaimed documentary maker Wild.

Locals may remember her from when she filmed Blockade in the region 10
years ago or from A Place Called Chiapas.

While Wild started out chronicling the health issues and activists in what
she calls a revolution in her own backyard, she ended up with a story of
love and political scandal.

Her latest film, Fix, chronicles two years of front-line activism in one of
Canada's most drug-plagued communities. It tells the story of a former IBM
salesman turned heroin addict who is fighting to open North America's first
safe-injection sites for intravenous drug users in downtown Vancouver.

She is bringing her controversial film on a tour across the province and
then across the country because she wants to give people the opportunity to
talk about the unspeakable.

Wild will facilitate a discussion with local addiction service providers
after the movie runs in Hazelton on March 26 and Smithers on March 31.

She says the tour is not about imposing the problems of Vancouver on small
communities, but it is about finding out what is happening in these
communities.

"[People in the downtown eastside] will tell you that they didn't get
turned on to drugs in the city, they went there because of the lure of more
drugs and the culture -- and they are coming home with HIV," she added.

Beth Richardson of Northwest Addiction Services (NWAS) in Smithers said
they receive around 200 requests for service a year. "These are mostly for
alcohol problems, but people do use cocaine, methamphetamines (speed) and
more," she said.

She pointed out that NWAS is only one of a number of service providers
including the needle exchange at the Health Unit, the Friendship Centre,
Positive Living Northwest, Community Services, Narcotics Anonymous, and
private counsellors.

Those who never seek services in the community are can not be tracked.

While Richardson understands that some people may not want to see a movie
about heroin addicts, she thinks the film brings up an important change in
philosophy that is leading the way in addiction services around the world.

The controversial idea is called harm reduction and has come out of the
realization that abstinence, which was required in the disease model, can
drive away or marginalize users.

She explained that harm reduction is an approach we take every day when we
wear seatbelts, condoms or helmets.

The movie points out that safe injection sites in 27 cities in Europe,
Australia and drug-infested areas similar to Vancouver's downtown eastside,
help addicts reduce their risks.

In one area of Germany deaths had decreased from 147 to 26.

"If people could at least be exposed to the idea and consider it,"
Richardson offered, as a reason to go to the movie.

Wild said that she hopes people will be able to discuss the issues after
seeing her movie instead of just getting spooked. "It comes down to this:
is every human life precious or not?" she said.

The box office for Fix in Victoria has beat out Hollywood blockbusters over
the last few weeks, and in Vancouver reviewers are saying it is a must-see
show.

Fix will be showing at the Hazelton TriTown Theatre on March 26 at 7:30
p.m. and a school matinee at 12:30 p.m.

In Smithers, the film will appear March 31 at 7 p.m. at the Roi Theatre and
a matinee for high school students will also run at 12:30 p.m.

Community forums take place after the shows.