Drugreporter and Harm Reduction International co-organises the International Harm Reduction Film Festival next week in Porto, sponsored by Elton John AIDS Fund. There is an incredibly strong selection of movies – browse the programme and watch some trailers below! MONDAY 13:00 – 14:50 – Reaching out to the community I. Bevel Up Director: Nettie Wild, Canada 45 minutes This documentary, produced as a teaching tool, gives us an insight into the challenging work of street nurses in Vancouver. It explores the medical, legal and ethical questions raised in the delivery of health care to people who use drugs. Needles Director: Melissa Munroe & Ben Stewart, Canada 54 minutes Needles follows staff and clients of Mainline Needle Exchange (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) program, who believe in harm reduction by treating drug addiction as a health concern and not a crime or a moral issue. NEEDLES TRAILER from Clerisy Entertainment on Vimeo. Q and A 10 minutes 15:00 – 17:00 – Reaching out to the community II. Lugard’s story – why I’m taking on Kenya’s drug laws Director: Cara Lavan, UK 2:21 minutes In this short film, Lugard explains why he established Anyone’s Child Kenya. Lugard has worked in harm reduction for years and lost a friend who uses drugs to a ‘mob justice’ attack in Kenya. ‘Mob justice’ is just one example of the effects of the stigma prohibition creates around drug use and users. Highway Mike Director: Colin Askey, USA 5:31 minutes This video tells the story of Mike, an outreach specialist at Washington Heights CORNER Project, explaining who has used outreach to change his life for the better. Mudjalili: Sharing lived experience with Aboriginal men in drug and alcohol outreach Director: Richard Mockler, Australia 5:31 minutes The movie depicts how a peer support worker, Colin, works with Aboriginal men in a remote Australian location. A Place of Hope Director: Conor Ferguson, Ireland 5 minutes ‘A Place of Hope’ takes the audience behind the scenes of Merchants Quay Ireland’s Riverbank Centre. It’s an honest depiction of the day-to-day and intertwined realities of homelessness and addiction and the battle to keep hope alive. Sparkle in the Dark – Harm Reduction in Montenegro Director: Istvan Gabor Takacs, Hungary (the film was shot in Montenegro) 12:42 minutes This movie documents the collapse of harm reduction in Montenegro after the retreat of international donors, and the struggle of the NGO Juventas to create sustaniable funding for live-saving programs. Baluard Director: José González Morandi, Spain 52 minutes Chronicle of the day to day of a center of harm reduction for drug users in Barcelona, Baluard. The film is a compilation of “postcards” of the professionals working at the facility, showing the social-health care that they give to people in lack of it. “Mi Sangre es su Sangre” Director: Brigitta Sanchez-O’Brien & Paul Campa 21 minutes A short documentary uncovering the humanity behind struggling addicts, and the efforts of local NGOs to combat a mounting health crisis exacerbated by intravenous drug use in Tijuana. Q and A 10 minutes 17:00 –  18:50 – Opiate Substitution: Compassion and Care Liquid Handcuffs: A Documentary to Free Methadone Directors: Helen Redmond & Marilena Marchetti, USA 67 minutes This movie shines a spotlight on the closed world of methadone clinics. An international cast of methadone users, activists, and healthcare providers explain the benefits and the barriers to getting the medication. Liquid Handcuffs (Documentary Short) from Nicolas James on Vimeo. Looking back and moving forward: My journey with drug dependency Director: Sai Kong Kham, Myanmar 8 minutes This movie follows Sithu Min Than, a young man from Kachin State in Myanmar, struggling to recover with the help of opiate substitution treatment. Jakarta Crystal Injustice Director: Yohan Misero, Indonesia 8 minutes This is a movie about Maulana, a client of methadone maintenance treatment in Indonesia who had to face the inconsistency of Indonesia's draconian drug law. Petr’s way Director: David Pesek, Czech Republic 9 minutes This movie explores how opiate substitution improves the life of a person who uses drugs in Prague, Czech Republic. The Story of Lu Lu Aung: A true insights of a female drug user from the Land of Kachin Director: Asian Harm Reduction Network, Myanmar 4 minutes It is unfortunate that a girl used various kind of drugs crazily. She couldn’t quit from using drugs although she want to quit. Later she met with AHRN Outreach worker and he took her to AHRN office. Finally she found a little lamp for her life and she have awaken from all her nightmares. AHRN supported her with necessary treatment and Methadone. Q and A 10 minutes TUESDAY 13:00 – 14:15 – Saving Lives: Preventing Overdoses Anyone’s Child: Nadia’s story Director: Cara Lavan, UK 2:27 minutes Nadia’s son, Ben, died of an accidental overdose at a festival in Germany. In this video Nadia explains why she believes drugs should be legally controlled and regulated. Safer is Better – For Andrew Director: Colin Askey, USA 4:47 minutes Andrew’s mom talks about what it’s like to lose a child to an overdose and why she supports safe consumption spaces. Anyone’s Child: Penny’s Story Director: Cara Lavan, UK 3:57 minutes One weekend Penny’s son, Aidan, took heroin, but it was too strong and he tragically died of an overdose. In this video she explains why, had Aidan’s heroin been regulated, like medicines such as paracetamol are, or had he had been able to use heroin assisted treatment, he might still be alive and with her today. #SeeTheLives Video Series Director: Colleen Nuc, Canada 6 minutes The film is an edited compilation of our #SeeTheLives video series. Each of the four videos in the series focuses on a different story of the death of a child related to substance use, through the eyes of a bereaved parent. For Yams Colin Askey, USA 4,39 minutes The video opens with Tatiana Paulino, mother of the late Steven Rodriguez (aka A$AP Yams from the New York hip hop collective A$AP Mob), explaining how it felt to lose her son to a drug overdose. Steel Town Down Director: Shawney Cohen, Canada 39,33 minutes Tens of thousands of people have died of opioid overdoses across the United States in Canada in recent years, with the death count far surpassing the peak of the AIDS epidemic. Q and A 10 minutes 14:20 – 16:30 – HIV activism #NONexistentWEexist Director: Igor Kouzmenko, Ukraine (film was shot in Russia) 51,44 minutes This is documentary film shows how vulnerable communities fight stigma and dehumanisation in 7 Russian cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Naberezhnye Chelny and Kaliningrad. From Durban to Tomorrow (Preview) Director: Dylan Mohan Gray, India 40 minutes Through interviews with five activists from around the world, From Durban to Tomorrow looks back at the achievements of the AIDS movement as result of the watershed International Aids Conference in Durban in 2000. FDTT TRAILER 1 from Dylan Gray on Vimeo. Crackdown on Civil Society Director: Istvan Gabor Takacs and Péter Sárosi, Hungary 30 minutes This movie investigates why governments launched a crackdown on civil society organisations fighting for the rights of vulnerable populations in Eastern-Europe and Central-Asia. Q and A 10 minutes 16:45 – 19:00 – Nightlife/Psychedelic Harm Reduction

 Chemsex and the City
 Director: Stefan Plejic, Serbia 5 minutes A journey into the dark side of the Belgrade’s chemsex scene, raising awareness on overdoses, sexual assaults and methods to prevent them. The Psychedelic Science Frontier
 Director: Jerzy Afanasjew, Poland 12 minutes The movie features the pioneering work of the Czech National Institute of Mental Health on advancing psychedelic science. The Last Dance 100
 Director: Le Liu, USA 100 minutes The Last Dance is a feature-length documentary covering the 2010 fallout from an annual electronic music festival – known as Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) – at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This film highlights L.A. County’s groundbreaking harm reduction program in response to the Ecstasy-related death of a 15-year-old festival-goer. Official Trailer: THE LAST DANCE (Now streaming on Vimeo / YouTube) from The Last Dance on Vimeo. Q & A 10 minutes WEDNESDAY 12:30 – 14:30 – Making Women’s Voices Heard Chance to Sam: Netti’s story Director: Agnes Pakozdi, Germany 16 minutes The film features the story of Netti, her son Sam, and their experience with services for pregnant women who use drugs in Berlin. Forbidden fruit is always better Director: Malkhaz Berzenishvili, Georgia 17,39 minutes This movie gives an intriguing insight into the lives of Georgian women who suffer from the consequences of the war on drugs in a country with repressive drug laws – and shows the wisdom they use to survive and fight back. Clara Director: Colin Askey, USA 3:27 minutes This video tells the story of Clara, a current drug user and outreach specialist at Washington Heights CORNER Project that has trained over a thousand people in naloxone response. Martha Director: Colin Askey, USA 4:33 minutes This video tells the story of Martha, an HIV testing specialist at New York Harm Reduction Educators (NYHRE) that is motivated by her own lived experience. A Moment of Compassion Director: Brenda Goodman, USA (the film was shot in Mexico) 13 minutes The movie features the Wound Clinic, a mobile street clinic based in Tijuana, focused on providing humanitarian medical care for the homeless and poorest communities on the US-Mexico Border. Crossings: Stories of Migrant Sex Workers Director: Istvan Gabor Takacs 40 minutes Crossings is a sex-worker produced documentary about the effects of criminalisation on migrant sex workers in Europe and the powerful ways of their resistance. The film tells the untold stories of five people from five European countries (Serbia, Macedonia, France, Spain, and Norway) who come from very diverse backgrounds but have something in common  Q and A 10 minutes