FIX RIVETS PRINCE RUPERT

The cross section of age, culture, and diversity at the Prince Rupert
Cinemas last night was not for the latest blockbuster or anticipated Oscar
flick.

It was for something a little more closer to home -- drug abuse and the
politics that surround the massive problem.

Prince Rupert sent a message last night -- drug abuse is a big concern as
hordes of people sold out the theatre for the one-night only showing of the
FIX: The Story of an Addicted City.

"Northern communities want to know what's happening, because there is this
whole trend of people from small communities heading to Vancouver for the
big smoke, the Mardi Gras -- you know, for the black glamour of it all,"
said Nettie Wild, the filmmaker behind FIX. "But there is this horrible
saying about Vancouver -- that people go there to party and come home and
die. And that's what's actually happening. We (Vancouver) are the source of
drugs in North America."

Wild explained that virtually all the people she interviewed for the film
were from small communities. For them getting addicted to drugs is just the
start of their problems. In a world like East Hastings, many can look
forward too being infected with Hepatitis C or HIV.

"A lot of them are from little tiny communities and a lot of them are First
Nations."

The amount of children and teenagers that littered the crowd was bigger
than Vancouver or Victoria, said Wild. She was moved by the diverse crowd
and the amount of concerned parents who brought their kids out to watch her
graphic portrayal of heroin use on the streets.

Wild explained that Prince Rupert has now changed her mind on what she
thinks her viewing audience should be. Up until now it has been
adult-based. She made a point to go around and talk to all the parents in
the room so they knew what they were getting into.

"Prince Rupert may have changed my mind because I didn't see parents
bringing kids here because they didn't have a baby-sitter. I didn't see
laziness, I saw intent," said Wild.

"There was this one lady -- a First Nations working class mom, who brought
15 members of her family. She told me very specifically that she wanted her
kids to see how bad Vancouver is and she also said that some of her nieces
and nephews are already in trouble."

And watch they did. As many parents and adults turned their heads to the
disturbing scenes of heroin addicts shooting up, it seemed the young
members of the audience watched on unflinchingly.

"I wanted to come see the movie because drugs is such a big problem
everywhere," said 17 year-old Mitchell Myers, a Grade 11 student at Charles
Hays Senior Secondary School. "I have never seen people shooting heroin,
but I have seen poverty -- people in alleys and stuff like that.

"It's good to let people know what's going on on topics like this. Just
like poverty, it is good to let people know what's happening."

Dale McKinnon, program director for the Prince Rupert Addiction Services,
who was part of an after-viewing forum addressing drug abuse in Prince
Rupert, agreed.

"It's a poverty issue. I was surprised to see how many people did come
out...," said McKinnon. "Alcohol is the biggest presenting drug in our
clinic, I would like to see a movie about that."

But McKinnon wasn't convinced the heroin problem in Prince Rupert brought
the hundreds to the local cinema.

"It is still here but it's not like you walk down the street and people are
shooting up," said McKinnon. "They know it's here. However, cocaine use has
been steadily increasing in Prince Rupert and that also goes for
meth-amphetamines. Fortunately heroin use has been slowing some what. In
1993 we had 19 deaths from heroin alone ? that's a huge number and I think
somewhere along the line, something good is happening."