SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: Documentary Film

Surviving In The Cracks is an auteur creative documentary about a group of unlikely subjects who, from abusive backgrounds, homelessness, addiction, prostitution and poverty, struggle and succeed along with a youth support group and some university researchers to complete a remarkable theatre production based on their lives.

Creating this film has been a remarkable experience.  It carries significant weight in my decision to depart the corporate world to pursue film, although when I made that decision I had no idea that the project even existed let alone was just itching to be filmed.

That realization came quickly though – not fully one week into the summer semester of the Digital Film Program at Langara College, I attended a rehearsal for the “Surviving In The Cracks” theatre project to investigate whether it was a viable focus for my grad project.  After that first rehearsal, and for the many rehearsals and events that followed, I couldn’t tell whether it would be viable.  But I kept on shooting.

What resulted has turned out to be far far more than I could have ever expected.  Sure, it met the requirements for my grad film – but it CONSUMED me for the entire four months of the summer.  Today, the pursuit of getting funding to complete a long version of the film continues to be a major motivation, and a little frustration, in my life.  I strongly believe that this is an important film to complete, for its social and educational value, for academics and participatory researchers, aboriginal advocates, street-involved youth, and parents – and it is in this spirit that I am trying to complete it.

Today it exists in a 2.5 minute trailer (above), a 10 minute short and a 15 minute short.  Within the 20 hours of footage, there is a strong broadcast hour length version just waiting to be cut.

Thanks to the kind support from the Vancouver Youth Visions Coalition, the UBC Center for Health Promotion Research, CBC Archives, Tegan & Sara, Tobacco Brown, and Connor Robinson, not to mention the instructors and fellow students at Langara.