No Image Available

Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens

Nov 30, 2007

1h 14m

★ 0.0

A decade of life and death in the skids

Overview

In the late 1990s, some officers at Vancouver Police Department made a documentary film (THROUGH A BLUE LENS) about the everyday lives of six drug addicts in Vancouver's skid row, the Downtown Eastside. TEARS FOR APRIL reintroduces us to these six people; with footage shot over a period of nearly ten years, it continues their biography.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Odd Squad Productions

Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens Trailers

Cast

Herself

April Reoch

When Masset, a Haida village in Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), held a potlatch, it seemed as if the past grandeur of the people had returned. This is a colourful recreation of Indigenous life that faded more than two generations ago when the great totems were toppled by the missionaries and the costly potlatch was forbidden by law. The film shows how one village lived again the old glory, with singing, dancing, feasting, and the raising of a towering totem as a lasting reminder of what once was.

7.5

Never Die Young

Sep 24, 2014

An unnamed man narrates the downward trajectory of his life from beyond the grave, from delinquency to the string of fateful decisions and foolhardy moves that tied him inextricably to the opiate that was the elusive love of his life.

5.0

Our American Family

Sep 2, 2022

Addiction is an all-encompassing force, in not only the lives of the afflicted, but also those around them. Our American Family provides an honest, unfiltered look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse.

6.7

Mr. Untouchable

Oct 25, 2007

The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. Follow his life story from his rough childhood to the last days of his life.

4.8

Methadonia

Oct 6, 2005

Shot over the course of 18 months in New York City's Lower East Side, METHADONIA sheds light on the inherent flaws of legal methadone treatments for heroin addiction by profiling eight addicts, in various stages of recovery and relapse, who attend the New York Center for Addiction Treatment Services (NYCATS).

6.9

Heroin(e)

Sep 3, 2017

This documentary follows three women — a fire chief, a judge, and a street missionary — as they battle West Virginia's devastating opioid epidemic.

7.0

Life of Crime 2

Dec 15, 1998

This follow-up to the 1989 documentary ONE YEAR IN A LIFE OF CRIME revisits three of the original subjects in New Jersey during a five-year period in the 1990s. We share in their triumphs and setbacks as they navigate lives of poverty, drug abuse, AIDS, and petty crime.

6.0

The Salt Mines

Oct 1, 1990

Explores the lives of Sara, Gigi and Giovanna, three Latino transvestites who for years have lived on the streets of Manhattan supporting their drug addictions through prostitution. They made their temporary home inside broken garbage trucks that the Sanitation Department keeps next to the salt deposits used in the winter to melt the snow. The three friends share the place known as "The Salt Mines".

No Image Available

0.0

Confidential File: Barbiturates

Jan 23, 1955

A filmed sequence dramatizes the problems addressed in the program: the story of a working mother addicted to barbiturates initially prescribed by her doctor.

7.7

The Alpinist

Feb 7, 2021

Marc-André Leclerc, an exceptional climber, has made solo his religion and ice his homeland. When filmmaker Peter Mortimer begins his film, he places his camera at the base of a British Columbia cliff and waits patiently for the star climber to come down to answer his questions. Marc André, a little uncomfortable, prefers to return to the depths of the forest where he lives in a tent with his girlfriend Brette Harrington. In the heart of winter, Peter films vertiginous solos on fragile ice. He tries to make appointments with the climber who is never there and does not seem really concerned by this camera pointed at him "For me, it would not be a solo if there was someone else" . Marc-André is thus, the "pure light" of the mountaineers of his time, which marvel Barry Blanchard, Alex Honnold or Reinhold Messner, interviewed in the film. An event film for an extraordinary character.

7.0

The Smashing Machine

May 1, 2002

An unflinching look at the life and story of Mark Kerr between 1999 and 2001, an intelligent, articulate, and emotionally vulnerable athlete, considered by many at the time to be the most dominant ultimate fighter in the world. A former Olympic wrestler, Kerr easily dominated all his opponents, earning him the nickname "The Smashing Machine." With the promise of big money and the euphoria of his early victories, Kerr must battle his injuries and inner fears. The shock of these fights takes a heavy toll on his body and mind, and Kerr attempts to overcome these physical and psychological traumas by turning to painkillers. Kerr's addiction is shown in its raw form, with the camera capturing him desperately soliciting drugs from friends and staff, and injecting painkillers into his veins. His shocking defeat to Fujita in Japan shows us a story that is sometimes difficult and heartbreaking to watch.

6.0

Outside

Feb 18, 2018

The film explores the turbulent lives of homeless persons in Cologne, Germany. Through their personal belongings the homeless share with the viewer their memories and emotions, and provide insight into the secrets of survival on the street.

7.0

Second Lane

Dec 11, 2018

Second Lane is a story about drug addiction, living with it and fighting it. It is a documentary about people who use intravenous drugs and the professionals and peers working with those people. What happens when ‘Vinkki’, a social and healthcare counselling centre in Helsinki, closes its doors due to a lost contract.

4.4

Hookers, Hustlers, Pimps and Their Johns

Dec 30, 1993

British filmmaker Beeban Kidron ventures onto the mean streets of the South Bronx and other New York locales to examine the lives of those involved in the city's thriving sex industry.

10.0

Bliss

Jan 14, 2019

After a tragic series of events in his life, Rob discovers the over-the-counter drug known as codeine. The effects of the pill are so strong and addictive, that soon, Rob becomes dependant and consumes them daily. But the less he feels the more he misses, as his life degrades into a deep, dangerous, oblivion of bliss.

0.0

Island of Whales

Jan 1, 1990

This film joins five of the world's leading whale researchers on a scientific expedition around Canada's Vancouver Island. Spectacular photography and sound recording, both above and under water, provide an imtimate look at killer, gray, and humpback whales, and the world they inhabit. Island of Whales examines the communication, habitat, food supply and behaviour of whales. What emerges is a picture of creatures more sophisticated and complex than ever before imagined. At the end of the film, we are left with one compelling question: Can these magnificent creatures survive in the face of declining food supplies and pollution?

6.8

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

Dec 8, 2004

Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.

7.0

Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough

Sep 26, 2025

One of the most controversial writers of our times, join Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh as he undergoes a remarkable trip to find new meaning in his work, life and legacy.

0.0

NiiSoTeWak: Two Bodies, One Heart

May 25, 2017

NiiSoTeWak means “walking the path together.” Tapwewin and Pawaken are 10-year-old brothers trying to make sense of the world, their family and each other. They’re already grappling with some heady questions about identity. What does it mean to be a twin? What does it mean to be Cree? How do you define yourself when you’re forever linked to someone else? The twins discuss these questions with their two elder brothers — 22-year-old actor Asivak and 20-year-old basketball player Mahiigan — and their parents, Jules and Jake.

Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens Trailers